


An Everyday Sort of Magic

by tinyace



Series: A4O Hogwarts AU [1]
Category: All For One (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2018-06-01 09:45:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 45,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6513205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinyace/pseuds/tinyace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hogwarts AU - As the wizarding world finds itself on the brink of change, many secrets and mysteries hide within the walls of Hogwarts. Dorothy would like to solve them all, but the answers she finds may not be to her liking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Blackout

**Author's Note:**

> After I created [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWh65A7Lycc) I simply couldn't stop thinking about this AU. So _massive_ thanks to [Elli](http://ellianderjoy.tumblr.com), [Jill](http://dinolawrence.tumblr.com), and [Mary](http://laflahsdrive.tumblr.com) for helping me create this AU and being my beta's! You're the best squad I could ask for. :D

_Thesis: While wizards have held an advantage over Muggles for many centuries, recent Muggle technology show that magic will soon become irrelevant._

Connie sighs and scratches out the sentence she’d just written. Even her professor for Muggle Studies would consider that thesis absurd. She puts her quill back in the inkpot and lets her face rest in her hands. Her eyes wander around the study hall. A curtain of silence hangs over the concentrated students busily finishing their homework before supper. Connie sighs and turns back to her parchment. She picks up the quill again and notices her left hand is covered in ink.

“Ugh, of course,” she mutters to herself, annoyed. Being left-handed is still a disadvantage, nothing has changed ever since she learned how to write. Just two more years at Hogwarts and she can use _normal_ supplies. But before she can think about that she needs to pass her N.E.W.T.s, and to do that she needs to write this assignment.

She has just put the quill back to her smudged parchment when the doors of the study hall open with a loud slam. Startled, Connie looks up and sees the entire hall staring at a sweaty Gryffindor in the door opening. She recognizes the girl, she’s the same year as Connie is. What’s her name again? Dorothy! That’s right. They’ve never really talked, but she does know Dorothy is infamous for getting in fights. Apparently she’s also a good Quidditch player. One thing’s for sure, if there’s a red blur with a messy ponytail rushing through the hallway, it’s Dorothy Castlemore. Probably fleeing from the scene of a fight. 

Connie only realizes she is staring when Dorothy meets her eyes. She tries to avert her gaze before it becomes too awkward, but Dorothy’s already rushing towards her. 

“Hey, you’re in sixth year like me, right?” Dorothy says breathlessly. “Can I sit down here? I need to hide.”

“Sure?” Connie blurts out, confused. She’s surprised Dorothy even recognizes her. 

“Cool, thanks Connie. It’s Connie, right?” Dorothy rambles as she keeps frantically scanning the room. “Am I safe here? What do you think, should I hide in plain sight or get under the table?”

“Uh-”

“You’re right, under the table is better, Alex’s been a _real_ pain in the ass ever since she became Head Girl.”

Connie can’t help but be amused by Dorothy trying to squeeze herself into the small space between the table and the wooden bench. “Why are you even in this mess?”

“ _Douchecanoe_ , I mean who else? Fuckin’ asshole has been after my spot on the Quidditch team since first year. Judge me all you want, but he _deserved_ that punch.” 

Connie has no idea who ‘douchecanoe’ is supposed to be, but asking about him is probably going to rile up Dorothy even more. “Hey, I’m not judging you. I hope he got what he deserved.” 

A smirk appears on her face. “Oh, you bet. Got a nice black eye to go with the rest of his god awful personality.” 

Dorothy finally settles quietly under the table and the excitement in the room seems to have died down. Most people have gone back to their writing, with the exception of a few first years’ who are still staring at Connie’s table. Within a few weeks they’ll probably be used to these chases, like the rest of the school. Come to think of it, some of them probably didn’t even know about the existence of magic a few months ago. Would she feel different about magic if she was like them? She shakes the idea out of her head. There’s no point in ‘ _what if’s_ ’.

“Hey, Connie. Sorry to bother you, but can you be my lookout?” Dorothy whispers.

It’s not like she was really doing anything before. “Who is chasing you again?”

“Alex. Head Girl. Ravenclaw. Seems nice, until you break the rules.” 

Connie scans the room, but nobody is old enough to be a seventh year. “I don’t think she’s in here, but your description is very generic.” 

Dorothy sticks her head out from under the table and looks at Connie. “She’s got like... uh- black curly hair, kinda short though. Average height, I guess, taller than me at least. God, I don’t know? How do you not know how our Head Girl looks like?”

“I never get into trouble?”

“Fair enough.”

They fall back into silence, but this time Dorothy seems to hold her gaze on Connie for too long to be subtle. Is Dorothy… staring at her? Truth be told, Dorothy might look like a mess right now, but she somehow still manages to look stunning. Bruises and dirt from the fight included. But that only explains why _she_ is staring at _Dorothy_ , not the other way around.

“Y-you, uh,” Dorothy says and points at her own cheek. “You’ve got some ink there.”

“Oh!” Connie’s face turns red and quickly rubs her hand against her cheek. Of course she’d totally misread the entire situation. Great going, Connie.

“Don’t worry, happens to me all the time,” Dorothy says with a warm smile.

With a single sentence Dorothy manages to ease the mood. “Yeah, you should see my left hand,” Connie says, as she sticks her hand under the table. 

“Yikes,” Dorothy says upon seeing it. “You know they have smudge-removing spells, right?” 

“Or I could use a ballpen.” 

Dorothy looks at to her again, but this time there’s no doubt about why she’s staring. Connie has definitely said something weird for a wizard. 

Their eye contact breaks when the doors of the study hall opens. A panting and beyond pissed off Ravenclaw stands in the hallway. Definitely Head Girl Alex, Connie thinks.

Alex’s eyes dart around the room and finds their table within a second. 

_“There you are!”_ She hisses and despite how tired she looks, immediately sprints towards them.

_“Ah, fuck me!”_ Dorothy curses out loud, scrambles out from under the table and bounds off in the direction of a smaller door leading to the Middle Courtyard.

“Get back here, Dorothy! You can’t outrun your punishment!”

Dorothy looks over her shoulder and yells, “We won’t know that till I try!” She gives a quick wave in Connie’s general direction. “See ya later, Connie!” 

Connie returns the gesture awkwardly, but Dorothy has already turned around and set her sights on the door. 

“Oh no you don’t!” Alex screams as she grabs for her wand. _“Stupefy!”_

A light flashes through the room and the spell misses by an inch. Connie’s jaw drops. Did the Head Girl just try to _stun_ Dorothy? The entire room is startled and even Dorothy seems to be taken aback by this. 

She quickly recovers herself and shoots out of the room. Even from right across the hall Connie can still hear her swearing loudly. “Fucking hell, Alex! Whatever happened to fair play!?” 

“I’m just doing my job, Dorothy!” Alex yells at her as she chases after her. She pauses in the doorway for a second and says as calmly as possible, “Please go back to your studies, nothing to see here!” Before going back into _killer chase mode_ and storms out of the room. 

Whatever studious atmosphere was hanging in the study hall before Dorothy came in, has completely disappeared and turned into a buzz among the students. _Did you see that? Who was that? Was that a stunning spell she used?_

Some quickly glance at Connie, as if she has any idea about what just occurred. Yet she feels like she has the least idea of them all. She barely knows Dorothy, or any other of her classmates for that matter. Sure, she gets along fine with most of the girls in her year, but it’s not like they actually know her. She just likes minding her own business. Just doing what’s got to be done, and that’s all there’s to it. So maybe she should follow her own advice and come up with a thesis for Muggle Studies’ assignment already. 

As if the universe is playing an elaborate joke on her today, the lights suddenly go out and the entire hall plunges into darkness. Some first years start screaming, mostly to provoke the rest of the group. Connie sighs deeply. _Not again._ It’s the third time this week. Hogwarts decided this year would be a good year to start testing out some technology within the building. One of the reasons that Hogwarts seems to be stuck in the middle ages is because technology and magic don’t get along. Electricity shuts off, cars go sentient, computers go for morning jogs, you name it. The more complicated the technology, the worse it works alongside magic.

In today’s digital world where almost every Muggle carries at least a smartphone, it’s almost impossible for wizards to use magic whilst also in the neighborhood of technology. There’s never been a stronger demand for obliviators to erase memories from Muggles. In private homes it doesn’t seem as much a problem, because the usage of magic versus the amount of electronic devices is more or less balanced, but in a place like Hogwarts where people practice magic all day long, well… Even simple things like electricity and central heating were a no go. Until this year. For some reason her aunt, Headmistress Bonacieux, decided that this year would work out differently somehow, and electric lights were installed all over Hogwarts in the summer. Unsuccessfully. Blackouts have become a fairly daily part of the Hogwarts routine. Although this particular one seems to be the biggest blackout so far. 

Since electricity has already given Hogwarts a hard time it goes without saying that any private electronic devices are therefore forbidden at school. Which is another reason why Muggles have an advantage over wizards. What’s the point of magic if you can only use it in settings from 200 years ago?

“Hey Slytherin girl,” one student says, interrupting Connie’s train of thought. “You’re an upper class, right? Can you help with lighting spells?”

“I didn’t bring my wand,” Connie says, simply.

“Oh,” is all the student says, taken aback. “Okay, whatever.” 

They go back and join the rest of the students who are lighting all the candles in the room. Soft _lumos_ spells are heard all around. Slowly but steadily the room fills itself with light again, but it isn’t as bright as electric light. 

Connie could hear the judgemental tone in their voice. _It’s not what you think. I’m definitely capable of magic!_ But there’s really no need to get defensive, Connie says to herself. Plenty of wizards don’t always carry their wands, it’s not like you’ll actually need it when you are doing some theoretical homework, right? Come to think of it, she hasn’t even unpacked her wand from her suitcase. So far she hasn’t needed it. 

\--

Dorothy turns around another corner and then comes to a halt, leaning against the stone wall to catch her breath. The blackout has definitely gotten Alex off her trail. All she needs to do now is get back to the Gryffindor common room and she’ll be safe from punishment. Unless, of course, douchecanoe is already in there. Seeing that asshole’s grin might give her enough reason to punch him again, punishments be damned. 

She decides it’s best to just walk to her common room. Alex seems to have lost her and if she picks up her pace again she’d only draw more attention to herself. As she walks, her body tenses thinking back to the encounter she just had with douchecanoe. How dare he!? Picking a fight in front of the Great Hall? If only she could avoid seeing his punchable asshole face every day, she might not have to spend most of her time in detention. But _no,_ of course that jerkface is in the same fucking house as her so she has to see him _every day._ What’s even worse is that he’s on the Quidditch team. _Quidditch!_ The _one_ thing she’s actually good at. 

Studying has never been Dorothy’s forte, but she’s always been an excellent Beater. An uncommon position, especially for a girl as small as her, but she somehow managed to make the team in her first year. She remembers the very first time she played an official match. The whole crowd thought she was adorable as she flew on the field. Nobody expected a small kid like her to be a Beater. Within a few minutes the initial reaction was gone as Dorothy handled the Bludgers as well as any other Beater on the field. 

The only one left unimpressed on the field was Owen Rochefort, aka, _douchecanoe._ The year before Dorothy joined he was a Beater, but she had managed to replace him. Apparently he used to be called a prodigy for being on the Quidditch team in his first year. How difficult it must’ve been for a sexist dude like Rochefort to be surpassed so quickly by a girl who was one year younger than him. He got the position of Chaser instead, and he absolutely hated it. Their other Beater was miles better than Rochefort, so there was no way he could win this fight. It was either be a Chaser or be benched. 

Even after all these years, Rochefort is still a Chaser. Since it’s his last year, he is desperately trying to get his Beater’s bat back. 

_Over my dead body,_ Dorothy thinks. She doesn’t trust him for a second as a Beater. He wouldn’t be protecting the team, he’d just smash Bludgers at everyone’s head and laugh maniacally as chaos ensued. He’d make his own personal game of trying to get every other player on the field kicked into the hospital so he’d be the last man standing. Like a sick version of survival of the fittest. 

That’s why that asshole started talking to her in the Great Hall today; to get Dorothy’s position on the Quidditch team. Since it’s still fairly near the beginning of the school year he keeps trying to persuade her to step down as a Beater and become a Chaser instead. As if she isn’t used to his manipulative gross behaviour. He’s been doing that since the very first school day. She called him out on his shit, and he was about to punch her. Luckily, being a Beater has its advantage, and Dorothy hit him first. Socked him right in the eye! Of course, Alex just so happened to witness this, and that’s when their chase began. It’s nothing new really, but now is the time to train as much as she possibly can for Quidditch and hopefully get scouted. After all, being a professional Quidditch player has been her dream as long as she could remember.

Finally arrived at the seventh floor, Dorothy turns around the corner and walks into the Fat Lady’s Corridor, only to see that Alex has outsmarted her and is standing in front of the portal that leads to the Gryffindor Tower. Next to Alex stands the Head of Gryffindor.

Dorothy wants to run off again, when the harsh voice of Rick Liu calls her name. 

“Miss. Castlemore!” He says. “My office, please.” 

Dorothy clenches her fist. And this man is exactly the reason why _she_ spends most of her afternoons in detention, while Rochefort is roaming around freely doing whatever he likes. No rules seem to apply to him, because Professor Liu has his back. Always putting in a good word. Having Rochefort in the same house as Dorothy is bad enough, but to make it worse, Professor Liu is Head of Gryffindor. Together the two make a living hell for Dorothy. 

“Of course, professor,” Dorothy grinds her teeth and reluctantly follows Liu. 

“You too, Miss. Silleg.”

Dorothy raises an eyebrow. Even the Head Girl is in trouble? That can’t be good.

“Uh- Of course, sir.”

Professor Liu’s office seems pretty big, given he’s not even the Headmaster of Hogwarts. It’s unsurprising to Dorothy though, since this dude is capable of manipulating almost everyone with just a few words. What’s more surprising, is that Professor Treville is in his office as well. She’s standing next to his table, patiently waiting for their arrival. Why is she here? She can’t be here as the Head of Hufflepuff, right? Maybe it’s a Quidditch matter? She’s one of the referees after all, and teaches the first years Flying class. Could this be about the game next Saturday?

“Miss. Castlemore. Alex,” Treville nods as they come in. “Professor Liu has informed me about your little shenanigans earlier this afternoon.”

Professor Treville is in a scolding mode, that’s never a good sign. 

“I’m disappointed. In the both of you. Miss. Castlemore, I’d hoped you’d have grown out of your rebellious phase after five years at Hogwarts.” Treville says. “And you, Alex, as a Head Girl you bear a lot of responsibility. You’re supposed to be a role model for younger students. Using stunning spells in front of impressionable youngsters is _not_ how to behave!”

“I’m so sorry, Jeanne,” Alex immediately apologizes.

“That won’t be enough, Silleg,” Liu says, interrupting the conversation.

He uses this opportunity to stretch out the silence and takes his time to sit down in his chair. Everyone else is still standing.

“We’ve decided you both will be punished for this incident. Five points will be taken from each respective house you represent. _Furthermore,_ ” Rick emphasizes before anyone can protest. “Both of you are expected in Professor Treville’s office tomorrow evening at 8 o’clock. She will be in charge of your detention.” 

Dorothy hangs her head. Another evening of Quidditch practice she’ll have to miss. 

“Miss. Silleg, that’ll be all,” Rick says. “Castlemore, you better sit down, because we’re not done yet.” 

Alex leaves the room quietly as Dorothy sits down in one of the chairs. She’s been punished many times before, but for some reason this feels different. More serious. 

“You’ve been a handful. Giving everyone trouble since your first school day six years ago. Your attitude might be an advantage in Quidditch, but if you’re not able to play with others well, that’s an indication of bad sportsmanship.”

“Rochefort started it!” Dorothy protests. “He was about to punch me! Should I have let him!?”

“Of course punching someone isn’t acceptable, done by anyone. However, intention is not action. Point of the matter being, you punched Owen, not the other way around. Whether Owen intended to punch you doesn’t matter, he might as well just wanted to provoke you, with no intent of hitting you.”

There it is. His twisting of words. Making it sound like Rochefort is nothing but a sweet misunderstood boy. After all these years, Rick Liu is still a politician.

“And what if I intended to provoke him and he moved in such a way I accidentally hit him?” Dorothy says. 

“If that were so I doubt Owen would be in the hospital wing right this moment, being treated for his black eye _you_ gave him.” 

“I-”

“This is the last straw, Miss. Castlemore,” Treville jumps in. “Professor Liu and I have decided that since detention doesn’t seem to have any effect on you we need to take more drastic measures.” 

“We hereby suspend you from the Quidditch team,” Liu says. “No games. No practices. You won’t be able to play Quidditch until Professor Treville says so.”

“But that’s totally unfair!” Dorothy says. “You _know_ I want to be a professional! I _need_ to be on the field!”

“I’m very sorry,” Treville says. “But we seem to have no other option. If you manage to behave in an orderly fashion, you will be on the field in no time.”

“But I’m gonna miss our match against Ravenclaw, aren’t I?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Who’s gonna play in my place? How are we even gonna win?”

Liu folds his hands on the desk. “I believe Owen Rochefort has wanted to be a Beater for quite some time. He’ll be taken your place.”

“Oh no he is NOT!” Dorothy jumps up furiously. “This was all his little scheme for me to get out of the competition! He’s been after my spot since the beginning! You can’t do this to me!”

“No matter what imaginary fight you think you’re having with Owen, you _are_ on the same team, Castlemore! Behave like a Gryffindor. Be proud of our team!” 

“Not when assholes like him get to play! I refuse this! I’ll literally do anything else. I’ll scrub toilets. Do all my homework. Ace all my classes and be an assistant to both of you and do all your dumb chores. I’ll give up my fucking left _foot_ as long as it prevents douchecanoe from taking my place!”

“This is not a matter of discussion,” Professor Treville says firmly. “If I even see you as much as flying on a broom before I say you’re allowed to, you can be certain you’ll be on the next train back to London!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the chapter! If you want to talk about this AU you can leave a comment or shoot an ask on my [Tumblr](http://bannedfromzoos.tumblr.com)! :D


	2. The Forbidden Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dorothy meets the gang, and detention doesn't go as planned.

Dorothy hadn’t been able to get any sleep last night. She got kicked out of the Quidditch team until further notice and douchecanoe Rochefort is going to take her place. In all her years of fighting and breaking the rules this had never happened. 

No, there had to be another reason. This didn’t feel right. Rochefort was so calm yesterday when he approached her. This was not a coincidence, he had to have planned this all out. If she sees him today she’s sure she will kick his - 

“Ms. Castlemore, you still with us?” the Charms professor asks. “You look like you’re planning a murder spree.”

I might as well be, Dorothy thinks. “Didn’t sleep well, sir.”

“Alright, try to pay attention as best as you can. If you can’t keep up now, doing your N.E.W.T. finals next year is going to be impossible.”

Dorothy nods in understanding and the teacher takes it as enough a sign to continue. 

Since Quidditch is off the table, her schedule has opened up tremendously. Maybe she should stop trying to come up with a revenge plan and use this time to focus on studying. If she keeps her head low and sucks up to Treville, she might be able to train again after the match against Ravenclaw. That way Rochefort only gets to be a Beater for just a few weeks. Yeah, there’s definitely no sweeter revenge than getting her position back. The only challenge is to avoid douchecanoe at all costs until that day arrives. Otherwise the Gryffindor Tower will be a fucking battlefield.

“... And that will be your homework for next week. It’s a lot, so make sure to start early!”

Crap. She completely zoned out again. Maybe he will repeat the homework again, he always has a tendency to explain things twice.

“That’ll be all. Class dismissed,” the professor says with a smile.

 _Oh for fuck’s sake. You had_ one _job, dude!_ Dorothy sighs and puts away her books in her bag. She looks around the room to ask one of her classmates. She knows all their names, yet no one seem really approachable. Dorothy might have made a name for herself as a Quidditch Beater, but the cost of being on the field all day is that she doesn’t really have time for friends.

She walks out of the classroom and spots Connie in the corridor. Connie’s smart, she probably paid attention and wrote down the homework. They talked yesterday, so it’s not as weird. Besides, she’s cute. That might be a shallow reason to talk to someone, but it’s not a crime. 

Dorothy rushes towards her, “Hey Connie!”

“Oh, hey!” Connie says with a smile.

“So, I completely forgot to write down Charms’ homework. Can I quickly copy it from you?”

“Oh- uh, Dorothy,” Connie says awkwardly. “I dropped Charms after we took our O.W.Ls.” 

“Wait, what?” Dorothy asks, confused. Only people who fail their Charms exam don’t take a N.E.W.T in Charms. It’s pretty much the most basic and practical subject taught in Hogwarts. Connie definitely wouldn’t fail an O.W.L. as simple as Charms. “I _swear_ I saw you in class today.” 

“Must’ve been someone else,” Connie says. “So did you outrun your punishment yesterday?”

That was a subtle change of subject, but not one that got past Dorothy. 

“No, Alex beat me by waiting in front of Gryffindor Tower. I got detention tonight at eight.” 

“That sucks. Can’t outsmart a Ravenclaw, I guess.”

“No, I guess not,” Dorothy says, looking suspiciously at Connie. 

She cannot wrap her head around Connie not taking Charms. She runs through the classes she’s taken - a whopping total of three - but she can’t remember seeing Connie in a single one. Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration. They are all subjects you need if you want a decent job in the wizarding world. Connie’s definitely got the grades, sometimes she was even top of the class. Why isn’t she taking any of them?

“I haven’t really seen you in any of my classes this year,” Dorothy says delicately. 

She sees Connie’s eyes shift uncomfortably. “Oh yeah. I guess I didn’t really pick the most obvious subjects.” 

“Right…” 

“Anyway, I got class,” Connie says quickly. “Nice talking to you, Dorothy!” 

Connie immediately turns the nearest corner, leaving Dorothy behind in the corridor. Dorothy watches Connie disappear into the crowd of students. It’s not like Dorothy wants to make her uncomfortable, but she can’t help but wanting to figure out what’s going on inside Connie’s head. 

After dinner Dorothy roams the hallways of Hogwarts. It’s too late to go back to the common room and do some homework and too early to head over to Treville’s office just yet. Normally she’d be on the field right now, practicing Quidditch. The team did not take the suspension well, and maybe, breaking the news during dinner was a bad idea. The captain knew already, but the others practically burst her eardrums yelling. Rochefort was the only one that wasn’t angry, sitting there with this sly grin on his face the whole time. Punching him had never been so tempting, but she somehow managed to keep her cool.

She checks the time and it’s ten to eight. Treville’s office is down this hall - well, actually it’s the Arithmancy classroom with her office connected to it. She figures she might as well be early and show the professor she’s behaving like a perfect student. 

Dorothy’s teammates are used to her missing practices by now. It’s one thing to miss practices due to detention, but being suspended? She keeps the team safe from getting hurt and makes sure they can focus on their own tasks. Even if Rochefort is a decent Beater (which she highly doubts) the dynamic of the team now has to change, a week before their first match of the season. That’s hard to pull off, no matter how awesome a team is.

Dorothy opens the door and to her surprise two students are already waiting in the cramped classroom. They turn around and the girl with the beanie and a loose Slytherin tie around her neck gives her a grin. Dorothy definitely has had detention with her before: Ariana Henries. 

“Well, well. Dorothy Castlemore. We meet again,” Ariana says. “What brings you here today?”

“Got into a fight,” Dorothy mumbles as she closes the door and takes a seat on the opposite of the room.

“A fight? You gotta be more original, Castlemore. You always get detention for the same old reason.” 

“Shut up, Ariana.”

Ariana’s a great gal, and normally Dorothy can appreciate her sense of humor. But today has _not_ been a good day. 

The Hufflepuff that sits next to Ariana gives Dorothy a good look. Dorothy can’t recall the girl’s name but she’s pretty sure she’s Ariana’s girlfriend, since the two are always glued together. Lord knows how, because her bubbliness and optimism are the complete opposite of Ariana’s sarcasm and grumpiness. 

“Wait, aren’t you one of Gryffindor’s Beaters?” the girl asks.

“Not anymore,” Dorothy says, bitterly.

“You got kicked out?” Ariana asks a bit too cheerfully.

“Suspended.”

“Aw, no. You’re such a good Beater!” the Hufflepuff girl says earnestly.

“Yeah, well. Whatever.” Dorothy says, and decides it’s best to just change the subject. She really doesn’t want to talk about Quidditch right now. “I’m sorry, but I completely forgot your name?”

“Oh! That’s okay! I’m Portia Vallon, and this is my super hot girlfriend Ariana,” Portia says with warm smile. “But it seems like you guys already met before.”

“Yeah. Total besties from the many detentions we’ve spent together,” Ariana says, sarcastically.

“Ria, play nice,” Portia warns her.

“I _am_ playing nice, babe!” Ariana says. “Dorothy is not on my to-kill-list. Which, is a complete honour, because everyone I’ve ever met is on that list, besides like five people.” 

Dorothy smiles a little at that, but before she can reply, Alex enters the room. 

“Holy shit! Mom!?” Ariana exclaims. “Mom’s got detention!? 

Alex sighs. “Ariana, don’t call me -”

“This is the best day of my life! Where’s a phone when you need it? I need to take a picture right now.” 

_“Ariana!”_

“I’ll frame it and put it on my wall, and every day I will wake up with a smile upon my face, and remember this exact moment.”

Alex crosses her arms. “Are you done?”

“Yes, Mom.” 

“Great,” Alex says with an irritated sigh and sits down next Dorothy. 

“But you can’t have detention, right Alex? You’re Head Girl!” Portia asks.

“Actually I can, since I disobeyed the rules while chasing Dorothy.”

Ariana looks at them. “So you’re here because of hot-head over there?”

“I’m here because of what I did. I cast a stunning spell, that’s on me.”

“A _stunning spell._ Oh my god, this just gets better and better. You’ve must have really pissed Mom off, Castlemore. If only I had already installed those cameras I could’ve watched it with a bag of popcorn.”

“You’re _not_ going to place cameras all over Hogwarts! Let’s not forget that yesterday’s blackout was caused by you.”

“Wait, you caused that enormous blackout?” Dorothy asks, and tries to not sound too impressed.

“Hell yeah I did. I was using magic to hack into BuzzFeed. All the articles were just links to rickrolls. It was as glorious as it sounds.”

“Is that even possible? I thought magic and technology didn’t work together,” Alex says, skeptical.

“Now that’s what they _want_ you to believe. It’s a challenge, for sure. But I’ve never backed away from that,” Ariana says excitedly. “I believe there _is_ a way, we just gotta figure out _how!_ And when I do, I’ll have control over both the Muggle and magic world.” 

“You know, if you would turn that ambition of yours to good use, you could actually help a lot of people,” Alex says.

“Uh, yeah _okay._ Where’s the fun in that?”

Their banter grows more heated when Dorothy’s attention is drawn to the big clock as it strikes eight. What strikes her even more is that Treville isn’t even here yet, which is so unlike the always punctual professor.

“It’s eight o’clock. Where’s Treville?” Dorothy asks, deciding to completely ignore whatever Alex and Ariana are fighting about. 

“You’re right, that _is_ weird!” Portia chimes in. 

Besides being without a doubt the most reserved Head of Hufflepuff that Hogwarts has ever known, a Quidditch referee and Flying teacher, Professor Treville somehow manages to have enough time to also be teaching Arithmancy. Of course, practically nobody takes the subject because it’s about calculating numbers and other _boring_ stuff, but still, it’s not as if Treville had trouble balancing that all before. Maybe the workload was finally getting to her?

“I’m sure she lost track of time for a bit and will be here any minute,” Alex says. 

“She’s always on time,” Portia says firmly. 

As the only Hufflepuff in the group, Dorothy realizes Portia probably knows Treville best. “Isn’t there a rule that if the teacher doesn’t show up after ten minutes you can leave?”

Ariana claps her hands enthusiastically. “Yeah, let’s make it five!”

“That rule doesn’t exist,” Alex says. “Besides it’s not class, it’s detention.” 

Ariana turns to Portia and takes her hand. “Babe, you don’t even _have_ to be here. If you got something better to do, you should go.”

Portia smiles and leans in closer to her to give a small kiss. “But I want to spend some time with you.”

Something twists in Dorothy’s stomach seeing Portia and Ariana together. She hasn’t dated anyone in a while, and she’s missed kissing. Fleetingly, her mind wanders back to the last attractive person she saw: Connie. Are her lips soft? Maybe. They looked like it but- Wow. Wait. What? Where the hell did that come from? 

There’s not much time to think about the apparent crush she has on Connie, because Treville finally walks into the room.

“I’m terribly sorry I’m late, but there was an emergency staff meeting,” she says, as formal as ever. But Dorothy can see there are about three strands of hair in her face, which for Professor Treville is pretty much equivalent to her entire world collapsing. 

Treville checks the room real quick and then says, “Good, you’re all- Oh, Miss. Vallon, why are you here?”

“Moral support for Ariana, of course!”

Professor Treville represses a sigh. This doesn’t seem to be the first time they’ve had this conversation. 

She clears her throat, “Very well, then.” 

Treville walks to the front of the class, as if she’s going to teach a class. She turns around and gives the four of them a stern look before telling whatever she’s been holding back. “I have a proposal. I was asked to clear out a disturbance in the Forbidden Forest. I would never take students there if I didn’t think it was necessary. _But,_ since you’re all N.E.W.T.-level students you should be able to handle it. So, you can either join me to the Forbidden Forest or come back tomorrow evening and write lines. The choice is yours.”

“Forest!” Ariana immediately calls.

“Obviously!” Dorothy has only been in the Forbidden Forest once as a detention. This was an unusual occurrence, and she’d take it over writing lines any day. 

“Wait but I thought Professor Liu normally takes care of these things since he teaches Care Of Magical Creatures?” Alex asks.

“Professor Liu is preoccupied and asked me to fill in for him,” is all Treville says. “So everyone is joining me then?”

\--

Walking through the Forest, Ariana could barely contain her excitement. Although she knows nobody can tell the difference between extreme excitement and her normal facial expression, with the exception of Portia. Ariana’s not one for caring her emotions on her sleeve. In fact, it takes a lot to make Ariana care for something at all. There are only three things she actively loves in this world. On the top of that list is Portia, and the other two are creating chaos and getting away with illegal shit.

“So what’s the disturbance, Treville?” Ariana asks, intrigued.

“There were signs of dark magic within the forest. We’re going to check the location and see if that’s true.”

Dark magic. It’s not much, that could mean anything. But since a professor isn’t sent to the Forbidden Forest to prevent a student from testing out some not-so-nice-spells, Ariana figures it has to be bigger. Maybe somebody’s practicing the Unforgivable Curses?

“You really like keeping it vague tonight.”

“That’s all I know, Miss. Henries.” 

They have been walking for almost half an hour, and although the sun is setting, the overgrown forest barely let any sunlight through, making it seem past midnight already. Whoever is using dark magic, they are using it in a really concealed place. 

Maybe it’s because she’s Muggleborn and only got to know about magic when she turned eleven, but dark magic intrigues her. Ariana is very aware that she has done her fair share of illegal things in her life, but actively pursuing dark wizardry isn’t one of ‘em. Sure she doesn’t have the best moral compass, but it’s not like she wants to actually murder people. No, more than anything, Ariana knows that the world isn’t just black and white. There’s a whole grey area left to explore, and a bunch of rules are not going to stop her. 

“We’re getting closer,” Treville says. “Keep your wands ready in case of any danger, but if I say you run, _you run._ Understood?”

Everybody mumbles that they understand. Ariana seizes the moment to walk next to Portia and take her hand.

“I meant what I said earlier. You don't have to spend every detention by my side. I know I’m awesome, but I also know you got a lot on your plate with your N.E.W.T.s.”

“Yeah I do, but I wouldn't be here if I hadn’t finished my homework already,” Portia says. “I'm not throwing away my future, okay?”

“Alright, just checking.”

Portia might not be the smartest, but her dedication and determination more than make up for that. In the three and a half years they’ve been in a committed relationship, Ariana has seen the fight Portia puts up. Not giving up on her dream of becoming a Healer, which is one of the most difficult jobs in the entire wizard world. Meanwhile, Ariana has always been a gifted student, yet she never bothers putting in much work. There is always something more interesting going on than school.

“But Ria, you should think about your future too! I mean, you never seem to do any homework. _And!_ I'm pretty sure you’ve spent more time in detention than in actual class this semester.”

“Yeah, but you know how _bored_ I get in class.” 

“Then why are you even at Hogwarts? You got good O.W.L.s. Might as well do something you actually _like.”_

“And spend an entire year apart from you? We talked about this. Not happening.” 

“So are you going to behave then or are you going to be a 10-year-old instead?” 

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be good,” Ariana says. "But even if I fail all my exams, our future will still be grand. You'll be the world's best Healer, and I'll do nothing except be your gorgeous trophy wife."

Portia slows down. “Ariana, I'm serious.”

Whenever Portia doesn’t use a nickname, she knows it’s time to cut the crap and just be upfront with her. 

Ariana sighs, and stops to look her in the eyes and say, “Don’t worry, okay? I got my ass covered.” 

“Okay,” Portia says, but there’s still confusion in her eyes, and Ariana can tell she is worried by what that’s supposed to mean. “Good, I guess.” 

Ariana gives her a smile and starts walking again.

“I’m just worried, y’know? We’re only three weeks into the semester and you’re not taking it seriously at all. Even more so than previous years. Please don't throw away your education just for some pranks, okay?"

Except she isn't just doing “some pranks”. Okay, _most_ of the time she is, but it has a different reason than just stirring up some drama. If only she could tell Portia that.

“I won’t,” Ariana says, and gives Portia a kiss on the cheek to comfort her. “I promise.” 

For the first time since their little one-on-one conversation, Ariana looks where they’re going, and realizes the three other lights have disappeared from her vision. 

“This is not good,” Ariana says. It’s too dark in the forest, so there’s no telling where they even are or how to get back to the castle. Not only is it dark, but it’s _cold._ Sure, there isn’t much natural sunlight in these parts, but this is cold-cold. Like the temperature has suddenly dropped below zero. 

“Ariana,” Portia says softly, and puts her glowing wand closer to her face. “Look.” 

It’s so cold that Ariana can see her breath. Her mind races. Dark. Cold. That’s impossible. Not at Hogwarts. 

About twenty metres ahead flashes a silver light through the air, but she can’t see how the spell lands, something big blocks the view. A tall dark hooded figure looms right in front of them. Ariana can feel the darkness of the dementor pulling her in.

“GET DOWN!” Ariana screams and instinctively jumps in front of Portia. She’d die before she let Portia’s happiness get sucked out by a dementor.

 _“Expec-”_

The airs seems to get sucked out of her lungs. _You are under arrest. What? You heard us. I can’t- We’ll see you in court._ Positive! Think positive! A cold shiver runs over her back as the dementor closes in. _I can’t go to Azkaban!_

“ARIANA!” Portia screams, but it sounds muffled. Like she’s slowly slipping away.

Portia. _I’ve got one demand._ Think of Portia. Her happiest memory. She _knows_ what it is! Yet it feels so distant. What if she just let go off- _Portia!_ Portia can’t do a patronus yet. They’ve practiced, but it’s still too advanced for her. Ariana has to do this, alone.

Ariana grasps with her other hand her wand, almost desperately trying to hold on to the whatever good is inside her. _The park. Portia. Think of that bloody park, Henries!_

_“Expecto Patronum!”_

A bright light flashes out of Ariana’s wand, and a silver mist that almost forms a fox spurts towards the dementor. The patronus throws the dementor back a bit, but Ariana knows she can’t hold this up forever. 

Out of the corner of her right eye she sees a similar cloud of mist shape into a bright and solid orca. The weight that’s pressing against Ariana’s willpower seems to lighten, and she quickly looks at her right to see Professor Treville casting the other Patronus Charm. She directs her eyes back to the dementor, only to see it be pushed away by the strong spell Treville is casting. 

The cold disappears as quickly as it came. Ariana loosens her grip on her wand and falls on her knees. Her entire soul seems to be drained. Cold sweat on her back. So this is what it truly feels like, to feel soulless. 

A warm hand slides over her shoulder, wrapping her in a hug. The familiar, soft voice of Portia whispers in her ear. “You’re gonna be okay, honey. You were incredible.” 

Ariana let her head rest on Portia’s shoulder. Never has she felt safer in her arms. 

“I counted five dementors,” Alex says. 

“Yes, this place is far too dangerous for students to be in. We need to return to the castle immediately,” Treville replies. “Miss. Henries, are you okay?” 

She looks up and sees the worried expression of the Professor. Ariana gives a small nod. “Yeah, I’m okay.” 

“It was very dangerous of you two to get behind like that. Who knows what would’ve happened if I hadn’t seen your Patronus and located you.” 

Professor takes a breath. “Nevertheless, I have to say I’m impressed. A Patronus Charm is far beyond N.E.W.T.-level. A lot of wizards are incapable of casting one. You should be proud of yourself.”

Ariana gives a weak smile. Pride is about the last thing she feels right now. 

“Okay this is cool and all, but maybe let’s not celebrate at a place where dementors literally tried to suck our souls out just moments ago?” Dorothy says.

“Yes, this is not a place to linger. We need to go,” the professor says, and emphasizes to Ariana. “Stay _close_ this time.”

Portia helps Ariana to get up again and with her arm still wrapped around her shoulders they walk ahead of Treville. 

“See? Despite all the snark, you still have so much good in you,” Portia tries to cheer her up.

Ariana smiles, because she isn’t sure whether that Patronus was her spell at all. If that really was her _own_ happiness or Portia’s abundance of happiness that has spilled over to her. She didn’t do it alone after all.

“The park,” Ariana says. 

“Hm?”

“Summer before fourth year. I spent the last two weeks at your place. We were always in that little park near your house, lying for hours in the grass,” Ariana looks at her. “It was the first time you said you loved me.”

Up until that moment she’d never expected that someone would truly and deeply care about her.

“That’s my happiest memory.”

\--

All five of them have gathered in Treville’s crammed office. Treville made sure they weren’t able to leave before the little lecture she surely is about to give. Ariana’s just impatiently waiting for her to spit out whatever sentence she keeps rephrasing in her head. 

To occupy her mind she tugs Portia closer who’s sitting on her lap. Since Dorothy occupied the only other chair in the room besides Treville’s, Ariana was forced to sit on a big chest shoved to the wall. It’s kinda uncomfortable, but at least she’s not awkwardly standing by the fireplace like Alex, who is nervously tapping her foot. There is a silence that has been eating at them since the walk back to the castle. Normally Ariana would break these kinda silences by saying something sarcastic, but after what happened in the Forest she really isn’t in the mood. 

“Let me say this once, _very_ clearly,” professor Treville finally breaks the silence. “You do _not_ under _any_ circumstances discuss what happened in the forest tonight. With anyone. Understood?” 

Everybody nods slowly.

“No, I really need you to _understand._ These are the kind of stories that will put Hogwarts under a lot of pressure. One small leak and the Daily Prophet will be running stories. It will ruin Anne’s- Headmistress Bonacieux’s reputation.” 

“But why? It’s not like Anne summoned the dementors, right?” Dorothy asks.

“Obviously not, but the fact that these creatures have managed to pass our protection spells will be held against the Headmistress,” Treville says. “You think parents will be thrilled to hear their child’s safety is in danger?”

“No, but-”

“What if something happened to one of you? If it performed a Dementor’s Kiss?” 

Ariana shivers. Just facing that dementor felt like her happiness was slowly sucking away, never mind an actual Kiss. 

Professor Treville let’s out a deep sigh. “I need to go speak to Anne right away. Meanwhile, you need some rest. It’s been a long evening.” 

“Jeanne, if there’s anything-”

“Head Girl or not you’re still a _student,_ Alex, and therefore _my_ responsibility” Treville suddenly snaps and takes a shuddered breath. “Everyone go to your dorms. Now.” 

Ariana has never seen Treville so tense before, which is really saying something because she gives off a constant vibe of a constrained, walking stress ball. Quickly they all leave the room, as to not make the ticking Treville-bomb completely explode. 

When they close the Arithmancy’s classroom door, Ariana’s the first to speak up. “Seems like Treville needs a drink or two.”

“What do you expect? She took four students to the Forbidden Forest, while those… _creatures_ were flying around. It’s a miracle we got away unharmed,” Alex whispers. 

“Don’t you think it’s weird?” Dorothy asks the group.

“What?”

“How come the _one_ night Rick Liu can’t handle a disturbance in the forest, there are dementors roaming the campus ground?” 

Ariana raises an eyebrow. “You think he’s got anything to do with that?”

Dorothy nods. “Yeah! He used to be a politician, remember? Before he decided to leave his wicked job at the Ministry and became a teacher at Hogwarts instead.” 

“What’s your point?” Alex asks.

“My point is, Alex, you don’t just give up a job as the Head of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, to go teach some obnoxious teenagers for funsies.” 

“I still don’t follow,” Portia says.

“Magical Creatures is his department. He’s got this reputation of being able to charm every creature in the wizardry world. What if professor Liu was the one who let those dementors onto campus grounds?”

“There’s no evidence to back that up, Dorothy,” Alex says. 

“Yeah, and why would he do that to begin with? To ruin his reputation?” Ariana chimes in.

“To take Anne’s position as Head of Hogwarts, obviously!” 

Alex scoffs.

“I’m just sayin’ the guy’s totally evil!”

“Yes, professor Liu isn’t exactly the nicest teacher around, but that doesn’t mean he’s after Anne’s position. There’s no evidence and thus no reason for us to get involved.” 

Ariana grows quiet. There’s no way she can share what she knows. 

“I think we should still warn Anne. Just let her know Liu is after her position.” 

“You’re jumping to conclusions, Dorothy.” 

Yes, Dorothy might be jumping to conclusions, unfortunately, Ariana knows Dorothy isn’t actually that far off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the chapter! If you want to talk about this AU you can leave a comment or shoot an ask on my [Tumblr](http://bannedfromzoos.tumblr.com)! :D


	3. Thestrals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dorothy sees Connie in an unlikely place and they start talking. A lot. (I hope you like dialogue)

The Great Hall is filled with students quickly devouring as much food as possible before this weekend’s trip to Hogsmeade. Dorothy however, is in less of a rush. Absentmindedly she takes a mouthful of Pixie Puffs cereal when someone suddenly slaps her back, making her almost choke. 

“Castlemore!” Ariana says cheerfully, sliding smoothly into the seat next to Dorothy and putting a flyer in front of her face. “Halloween event in the Shrieking Shack. Groups of three get a discount. You coming?”

Quickly Dorothy swallows the food she almost suffocated on and shakes her head. “No, I can’t. Got a two month ban on Hogsmeade visits.”

“Let me guess- you got into a fight?”

“Yes. With Professor Liu,” Dorothy says. When one evening after a tad too many Butterbeers she accused him of being power-hungry and insulted him with what sounded like an entire dictionary made out of swear words, the professor did not take it very well. “Not my finest hour.” 

“You really know how to pick ‘em,” Ariana says. “But you can still come. Secret passages and all. I know a few.”

“And risk getting caught and getting kicked out of the Quidditch team for real? No way.” 

“Wow, you sound like Alex,” Ariana says and the moment she says it jumps up excitedly. “Alex! I should ask her. I bet she gets scared shitless. That’s gonna be hilarious. Later, Castlemore.” 

“Later.” 

Dorothy takes another spoon of cereal and looks over her shoulder to see Ariana trying to convince Alex to join her. Surprisingly, it seems to go well, because Alex nods and Ariana heads off again with a grin on her face. Dorothy would’ve liked to come along, but the only thing she is basically allowed to do at the moment is going to classes. It’s been over a month since she got suspended from the Quidditch team, but no matter how many times she had begged Treville to just give her a _chance,_ the answer was still no. She doesn’t dare ask Rick, since they never get along in the first place, it would only lead to more punishment instead. 

She chucks down the last bit of her pumpkin juice before heading back to the Gryffindor Tower. Everyone except the first and second years are getting ready for the Hogsmeade visit. In about fifteen minutes the castle will be completely empty again, or at least, will feel infinitely bigger than on any other day. 

Dorothy opens the bedroom and sees just one other girl from her year is in the room. They exchange a quick smile as a greeting before Dorothy lets herself fall onto her bed. She stares at the ceiling, waiting for the other girl to leave. It’s about the most exciting thing she has done all week, watching the ceiling. Look. There’s a dark, burned spot over there. What happened? Did someone throw a candle up in the air? A spell gone wrong? Or maybe even a mini-dragon that was secretly being hidden by one of the previous students. Who knows!? _Excitement!_

She sighs and rolls over on to her stomach. She studies her silver necklace from every angle and plucks at her blanket for about another five minutes when the girl finally bids her goodbye and leaves the room. Dorothy immediately jumps up and drags her suitcase out of under her bed. On top of her stuff are some of her Muggle clothing. Some sweatpants, a white shirt, and some running shoes.

One thing that has been keeping her sane this month has been running. It has always been somewhat of a coping mechanism for her, especially when her gran -

She quickly shakes the memory out of her head and changes into her running gear. She pulls her hair up in a bun and waits about another ten minutes before she knows practically nobody is left in the castle. It feels silly, to be hiding that she has been running a lot lately. But running around in Muggle clothes for fun seems somewhat of a statement at Hogwarts. Which is about the last thing she needs in her life right now. People have already caught wind that she has been suspended after she wasn’t at the field with their match against Ravenclaw. She doesn’t want people to think she has given up on Quidditch altogether. 

Dorothy slips outside the castle and starts picking up the pace, running towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest. As long as she runs near the Black Lake, she won’t get in any trouble, she tells herself. 

There is a calming quiet surrounding her, except for the leaves that have started falling of the trees, creating a satisfying crunch with every step she takes. A warm autumn breeze fills her lungs and soon Dorothy forgets all about school. Hogwarts. Quidditch. Detention. Everything dissolves from her brain, only concentrating on her own breath and the crisp of the fallen leaves. 

After about twenty minutes her peaceful run comes to an end when she spots a small herd of Thestrals on her path. Dorothy swallows hard. Normally they aren’t this close to the lake. She doesn’t want to turn back now, but that would mean passing the Thestrals. Not only are these creatures grim and ghostly looking, but they are a very present reminder of death. Nothing about them appeals to her, yet they’re a small obstacle in her normal route. Think of it like parkour, she tells herself. If she keeps running in a straight line she should be fine. 

Just in case they will notice her, she starts running even faster. Her fists clench as she comes nearer to the winged horse creatures. Okay, maybe she should close her eyes. Just for ten seconds. So when she opens them again, there are no more Thestrals in her sight. Yeah, that’s a good idea. She quickly shuts her eyes and counts down in her head.

_Ten, nine, eight, seven -_

“Dorothy?”

Thestrals can’t talk. Right..? How do they know her name? Did she imagine it? Yeah she must’ve imagined it.

_Six, five, four -_

“Dorothy, why are your eyes closed?” the voice asks friendly. 

She slows down and tries to place the voice she just heard again. It sounds so familiar. Suddenly it clicks. That’s unmistakable the voice of -

“Connie!” Dorothy opens her eyes and sees Connie standing next to a Thestral. 

“Hi! H-how - how are y- I mean. What do are- You… doing. Here?” she quickly shuts up after that mess of a sentence. 

Connie only seems to find her stuttering charming and gives her a smile. “Well, it’s a beautiful day and got nothing better to do, so I thought I give the Thestrals a visit.” 

“You _want_ to be around them?” Dorothy asks amazed. 

“Yeah, they’re quite gentle creatures once you get used to them. They just got a bad rep,” Connie gives her a good look. “Although it seems you don’t like them very much either.”

“Yeah. No- they uh. Remind me of-” Dorothy inhales sharply. “Not so great times.” 

She nods understandably. “Maybe you’d be less scared if you came over here and pet one?”

_“What?”_

“Pet one,” Connie calmly repeats herself. “I promise they won’t hurt you.” 

Dorothy’s eyes shift uncomfortably, they’re surrounded by Thestrals and her first instinct is to run away as fast as she can. But Connie’s serious, and doesn’t seem like the person who would mess with her intentionally. “Uh, alright then.” 

Slowly, she shuffles towards Connie and one of the Thestrals towers above her. Up close they’re even scarier-looking than from afar. 

“It’s okay,” Connie says. “They won’t hurt you. They like being pet around the neck.”

Easier said than done, they don’t exactly look petable, but Connie doesn’t have any trouble around them so how hard can it be? Dorothy raises her hand up to the neck of the Thestral, but flinches when she touches the skin with just her fingertips. 

She quickly takes a step back. “I can’t do it.” 

There are too many memories reminding her exactly _why_ she can see them. As if the Thestrals themselves have taken away what is so dear to her. 

Connie takes a step forward, coming closer to her. She lays her hand open in front of her. “Do you trust me?”

Dorothy looks at her, Connie’s bright blue eyes have never been so close to hers, or looked more determined. She nods. 

She lays the palm of her hand in Connie’s, and she guides their hands together to the neck of the Thestral. Dorothy squirms and shuts her eyes. Suddenly she feels the smooth skin touching hers and her shoulders relax. The skin is somewhat slippery, but the way Connie’s hand moves hers it almost feels like she is touching the surface of a smooth river. 

A smile appears on her face and she opens her eyes again. “I’m petting a Thestral!”

“Yes you are, you dork,” Connie laughs. 

The Thestral lets out a satisfied whinny and Connie lets go of her hand. Surprised, Dorothy looks at Connie, as she had completely forgotten for a second that she was still holding her hand. It felt so natural, to have her hand in Connie’s. To be so close to her, which they _still_ are. There’s so little space between them that it’s so easy to -

It dawns on her _why_ they’re here. They’re both able to see Thestrals. They’ve both seen death. Dorothy clears her throat and quickly looks back to the Thestral, avoiding eye contact.

“You’re definitely braver than I am,” she says. “Up until this point I never even dared to look at a Thestral.”

“Maybe it’s because of the emotional connection you had with the person who died?” Connie suggests. “The reason I can see them is because of my cousin. Born prematurely, died three days later. I was six, and understood the implications only years later.”

Connie looks at her. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. It was very sad, but I never had an actual bond with him.”

“Yeah, that’s different.” Dorothy says absentmindedly, slowly petting the neck of the Thestral. 

She still remembers the moment, how she spent the weekend at her gran’s, like she did almost every other weekend. How she had jumped onto the bed excitedly to start the day. How her gran’s wrinkled hand had found hers, and gave it a weak squeeze. One last smile before closing her eyes again. Peacefully, unlike Dorothy, who can still feel the panic in her chest rise whenever she thinks about it. 

“My gran died,” Dorothy says, her voice just a raw whisper. “A few months before I went to Hogwarts.” 

Instinctively she touches her necklace. Besides her memory, it’s one of the few things left of her. “She taught me Quidditch.” 

“She must’ve been a great teacher then,” Connie says. “I heard you’re pretty good.” 

“Well, I’m not very useful when I’m not on the field,” Dorothy says, but she cannot let her sadness overbear her again. Her gran would’ve wanted her to remember the good things. Especially while talking to a cute girl. “At least they won the match against Ravenclaw.”

“You’re not playing?” Connie asks surprised. “I figured the running was part of your training schedule.”

Dorothy smiles. “Seems kinda useless to run when you’re on a broom all the time. Nah, I’m not allowed to fly right now so I try to keep in shape through running.” 

“And here I thought you were outrunning another punishment.” 

“Not gonna lie, it helps to be about the only person at Hogwarts who actually exercises,” Dorothy says, jokingly. “I’m just kinda surprised to meet anyone in the forest, since it’s a Hogsmeade weekend and all.”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve been to Hogsmeade tons of times with my family,” Connie says at once. “I’m kinda bored of it at this point.”

That seems logical, Hogsmeade is very small after all. Yet the way Connie says it almost feels rehearsed. But Dorothy doesn’t feel like interrogating her, she probably has her reasons for not going. Instead she would like to spent just a little more time with Connie. After all, what else is she gonna do? _Homework?_

“So, you hungry?” 

“Actually, I am,” Connie says. “You got a place in mind? Besides, the obviously _delicious_ dead birds the Thestrals are eating over there.” 

Dorothy looks over her shoulder to see the feast: meat being ripped in pieces, bones scattered, and feathers everywhere.

“Hm, not sure my place can top dead birds eating off the ground, but it’s up there.” 

“Sounds fancy. I wish I had brought my formal dressing robes.” 

“Oh! There’s a _dress code_ now? Miss Bonacieux, is this a _date?”_

“I mean, I _would_ ask the Thestrals to join in, but they don’t seem much for conversation.” 

Dorothy grins and drops the act as she says. “Fair enough. C’mon, I know a place where we can get some food.” 

\--

“I still can’t get over how fake that Haunted House was,” Ariana says annoyed, as they head towards the Three Broomsticks. “Wizards can’t do Halloween for shit.”

“Well, I thought it was pretty scary,” Portia says.

“That’s because you didn’t see the mechanics behind it. Or _lack_ thereof,” Ariana says. “At least Muggles know how to conceal their work.”

“I gotta agree with Ariana,” Alex says. “Elves as Boggarts are not very convincing.” 

“Maybe it’s easier for Muggles to get scared, because they don’t know all these creatures we know exist,” Portia tries to reason. 

“Ariana and I are both Muggleborn,” Alex says. “We weren’t exactly scared.”

“But you don’t know the Shrieking Shack! My dad always told stories about it when I was younger.” 

“Yeah, but you’re mom’s a Muggle,” Ariana says. “We’ve been to a Haunted House before, right Porche? I don’t remember you being scared back then.”

“Yeah that’s because it was built by Muggles. It pretended _ghosts_ were scary,” Portia says. “Ghosts aren’t scary, I mean Peeves is annoying, but not _scary.”_

“That’s fair. Maybe wizards just get scared of different things,” Alex says. 

“Oh yeah, I know how to scare some wizards, alright,” Ariana says and dramatically spreads her arms. “Flying _toasters._ Oh no! Beware! They’re everywhere! The electricity might kill you!” 

“Maybe keep the pro-Muggle-agenda down a notch?” Alex suggests before she opens the door of the Three Broomsticks. “We’re in wizard territory now.” 

They enter the busy inn and a wave of warmth and smoke comes their way. “Let’s hope there’s a table left.” 

“I’ll get us some Butterbeer,” Alex offers. “Meet you at the table.”

Portia takes Ariana’s hand as they shuffle through the crowded place. Entirely at the back and shoved in a corner is one last empty table. 

“That’ll do,” Ariana says as they sit down. 

She looks at Portia and sees she’s still a bit in shock over the Haunted House. 

“Hey babe,” Ariana says as she lays a hand on Portia’s back. She knows that rubbing her back comforts her. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Portia says with a nervous smile. “I’m just not a big fan of the Shrieking Shack.”

“I know, next visit we do what you want. Promise.”

“Only if you _also_ promise to not complain.”

“Hey! I don’t - Well, yeah I do,” Ariana says. “Okay, here’s the deal. I _can_ complain, but only beforehand. You won’t hear any complaint from me on the weekend itself.”

“Wow. That’s an offer I can’t refuse,” Portia says and seals the deal with a kiss. “No take-backsies now.” 

Ariana grins at her and then looks at the bar, seeing Alex is just about to order. “Okay, can I quickly show you this video compilation of people getting scared in Haunted Houses? It’s fucking hilarious I swear.”

She takes out her laptop out of her backpack and turns it on. Immediately a flying group of glasses filled with Butterbeer burst, pieces of glass scatter across the room. 

“Ria,” Portia nudges her. “You shouldn’t be using your computer.”

“It’s fine. Just a moment,” Ariana waves off the concern. “Ugh, why isn’t the built-in WiFi hotspot working? It works at Hogwarts, it should work here too.”

“Your laptop produces the WiFi?”

“Yeah, it’s - well it’s nerdy and I won’t waste your time explaining it,” Ariana says. “Hogwarts doesn’t exactly have WiFi spots around the school ground, and I gotta use the internet _somehow.”_

“Ariana!” Alex says from behind them. Quickly she sits down next to them, putting the Butterbeers on the table. 

“Why do you have a _laptop?”_ she hisses. “You’re not allowed any electric devices at Hogwarts!”

“We’re not _at_ Hogwarts.”

“But you _didn’t_ turn it in at the beginning of the semester, either!” Alex says. “I need to report this.”

“Ah c'mon, relax, Mom. I just wanted to show a video. No big deal.” 

“Those scattered glasses on the floor are thanks to this device too, I assume?”

Ariana gives the floor a quick glance and then shrugs. “Nothing a spell can’t fix.” 

Alex shuts the laptop and looks at Ariana. “We’re going to the Headmistress.” 

“Jesus! Alex, be careful with my laptop! I got permission to use it from the Deputy Headmaster!” 

“Seriously? _Rick Liu_ gave you permission? My ass he did. We’re going to give Anne a visit.” 

\--

Of all the ways Connie imagined her day would go, she never expected she would end up walking towards the Hufflepuff Basement with Dorothy. Honestly, it’s a way better outcome than other Hogsmeade weekends, where she has to sit and wait for the hype to die down slowly.

Dorothy tickles the pear on the portrait full of fruit and the door towards the Hogwarts kitchen flings open.

“You’ve done this before,” Connie remarks.

“Yeah, I’ve made some friends here,” Dorothy says as she enters the kitchen. “Fiffle, you here?”

“Dottie!? Dottie is that you?” a House Elf emerges from behind a pile of dishes. They might as well been an adorable walking disco ball. Between their big floppy ears is a blue beret with pink dots. They wear a fluffy sweater that sparkles and a checkered kilt. And of course, the pride of many freed Elves, their colourful, mismatched socks. 

Their big eyes light up when they see Dorothy. “Oh! It _is_ you!” 

The Elf runs towards her and Dorothy quickly lowers herself to embrace the Elf in a hug. 

“Hey Fiffle! How’ve you been?” 

“Fiffle’s been good! Very good!” the Elf beams. “Has Dottie been running again?”

Connie sees the clear contrast between Fiffle’s colourful clothes and the plain Muggle clothes Dorothy’s wearing. Apparently Dorothy visits the kitchen regularly enough for Fiffle to notice this.

“I was running- but ran into a friend instead,” Dorothy says and motions at Connie. 

“Oh!” Fiffle suddenly gaps. “I’m so sorry! Fiffle was so happy to see Dottie, Fiffle didn’t see she brought a friend!” 

“That’s okay,” she says. “I’m Connie, nice to meet you Fiffle!”

Fiffle shakes Connie’s hand furiously. “Likewise! Any friend of Dottie is my friend too!”

Their eyes grow bigger the longer Fiffle stares at Connie. The Elf suddenly snaps out of the trance and quickly shuffles back to Dorothy, whispering in her ear. “She is very pretty.” 

Connie’s cheeks turn pink and Dorothy looks at her, giving her a grin. Dorothy knows she heard the loud whisper just as well as she did. Dorothy puts her hand near Fiffle’s big pointy ear and whispers exactly loud enough for Connie to hear. “Yeah she is.”

If Connie wasn’t blushing before by the adorable compliment she sure as hell is now. Dorothy on the other hand, seems to have a little too much fun with this. “Connie’s also the niece of the Headmistress.”

Fiffle puts their hands over their mouth and their already big eyes seem to almost burst out of their head. “Y-you is a family member of the Bonacieux?” 

She nods. She kinda hates it whenever people realize she’s a Bonacieux, but Fiffle’s enthusiasm isn’t because of the well-known wizard family name. 

“It is an honour to meet anyone from Professor Bonacieux family!” they say. “She has been the most generous boss Fiffle has ever worked for!” 

“Really?”

“Of course! Even before the Law and Rights For The House Elves the Headmistress has been very kind too Elves, indeed! We is getting paid five galleons above minimum and get 31 paid vacation days instead of 23!” Fiffle tells Connie enthusiastically, and adds with pride. “Of course Fiffle has not taken an additional sick day in over three years!” 

“But you _should_ take a sick day if you’re not feeling well, Fiffle!” Dorothy says. 

“Fiffle wants to show Headmistress Bonacieux Fiffle is a good employee!” 

Connie smiles sadly. The House Elves may have been freed, but their immense sense of loyalty is not something that can be changed with just a few laws. 

Dorothy takes this moment to get a Chocolate Frog trading card out of her pocket and hands it over to Fiffle. “Is this enough for a piece of cake?” 

“But this is Gwenog Jones!” Fiffle exclaims. “Dottie is very fond of this card! You has told Fiffle many times Miss Jones is an inspiration!” 

“Yeah, she still is,” Dorothy says. “But I no longer collect these cards, and I know you do.”

“You is very kind, Dottie!” Fiffle says as they put the card away. “Fiffle will get Dottie and Connie a nice piece of cake!”

“Oh, just one is fine,” Dorothy calls after Fiffle, who has already ran off to the other side of the kitchen. “I’m not that hungry.”

“Gwenog Jones?” Connie asks. “She’s a Beater, right?”

Dorothy nods. “Used to be Captain of the Holyhead Harpies.”

Wait which one is that again? She’s never been able to distinguish between all the different Quidditch teams.

“Only entirely female team in the UK,” Dorothy quickly explains. “It’s been pretty much a dream since I was little to join them.” 

Fiffle rushes back with a big piece of chocolate cake with icing on top and two forks. They bid their goodbyes and Dorothy and Connie walk upstairs, into the Great Hall. 

“You know what’s hilarious? When we got sorted I desperately negotiated with the Sorting Hat to be placed into Hufflepuff,” Dorothy says. 

“Hufflepuff?” Connie raises her eyebrow. “You don’t seem that much of a Badger.”

“Exactly! It’s hilarious because I’m _such_ a Gryffindor. But both Jones and Headmistress Anne are Hufflepuffs. They were my idols growing up.” 

“Wait, I think I remember your Sorting. I remember it being very long,” Connie says as they sit down at an empty table.

“I was hardcore arguing with the Hat. I literally _begged_ to get sorted into Hufflepuff, but it told me that would’ve been a mistake and placed me in Gryffindor instead,” Dorothy says, and hands Connie one of the forks.

“That’s actually hilarious, because my sorting was pretty much the opposite.”

Dorothy, having just taken a big bite out of the cake, quickly covers her mouth before saying, “How so?”

“Well, the Bonacieux family is one of the few pureblood families left in the country, and it’s pretty much just a long line of Ravenclaws and Slytherins. The Hat couldn’t make a decision on its own and asked me which House I preferred. I said I didn’t care and it tried to push harder for me to make a decision,” Connie explains. “Eventually it said that since I refused to give an answer it was considered ‘Slytherin behaviour’ and put me there.” 

“Seriously? Holy crap, that’s amazing,” Dorothy says. “But wait, Anne’s your aunt, right? How -”

“She’s one of the few exceptions, yeah,” Connie immediately jumps in. “Honestly, I’m kinda jealous of her. Every time the family is together there’s a huge fight which House is better. Anne’s the only one who can take the sideline.” 

“Sounds intense,” Dorothy says. “So you’re a pureblood? That’s interesting. Most people are halfbloods nowadays. Last Wizarding War seems to have stomped all the pureblood elitists into the ground though.”

The blood purists might have died down a little, but Connie knows full well that wizard elitism is still very much alive. She sees a slight panic come across Dorothy’s face and she immediately stumbles into an apology. “I mean, I don’t mean- I don’t want to _insinuate_ that _your_ family are pureblood fanatics, especially since you’re - _they’re_ Slytherins and -”

“Dorothy, it’s fine. My family might pride themselves in their wizardry, but they weren’t supporters. The ones that were are sitting out their sentence in Azkaban.” 

“And are disowned?”

“Oh yes, mentally and physically set on fire and erased from the Bonacieux bloodline,” Connie says lightly as she takes another bite of the cake.

Dorothy looks at her, but doesn’t seem able to decide what to say. It’s not usual for Connie to open up about her family, and even openly mocking them. Those are thoughts she keeps to herself, so she decides to quickly change the subject. 

“So I’m guessing you’re a halfblood?”

“Yeah, my mom-” Dorothy stops for a second, “My _grandma_ was the wizard of the family.”

Even from their previous conversation at the Forest Connie could tell Dorothy is very fond of her grandmother, more so than her mother. “Was she a Hufflepuff like your idols?”

“Nah, my gran’s French. She went to Beauxbatons,” a smile curls up on her face. “She was a Beater though. Pretty damn good one at that. But she got too injured before she made it professionally.” 

“She seems badass.”

“She was,” Dorothy says as she unconsciously touches her necklace. “She would’ve liked for me to go to Beauxbatons like herself.”

“What changed?”

“My mom,” she says as she lowers her hand again. “She said I _had_ to go to Hogwarts. My gran on the other hand, said _I_ should get to pick which school I wanted to go to.”

“And you picked Hogwarts?”

“Yeah…” Dorothy grows quiet. “My mom kinda forced me to in the end. After gran-” 

“I’m sorry.”

“Maybe it’s for the best,” she says as she rubs her neck. “Can’t speak a word of French.” 

“Well, if it means anything, I’m glad you’re here,” Connie tries to cheer her up.

“Thanks,” Dorothy says with a smile. “You’re way nicer than any of other the Slytherins I’ve met.” 

“Oh?” Connie asks teasingly. “Because all Slytherins are evil?”

Dorothy’s face turns red. “Well - No. I mean, not like _Dark Wizard_ evil evil, but like- uh. Well, for starters your emblem is literally a _snake.”_

“A lot of snakes actually make pretty nice pets,” Connie says and adds before taking another bite. “Maybe there’s more to them than first glance reveals.” 

She detects a glistening in Dorothy’s eyes. Connie should’ve known Dorothy would never back down from a challenge.

“Okay, I _know_ Slytherins aren’t all evil and such. But the Sorting Hat always emphasizes how _cunning those Slytherins are._ I mean, can you blame us for thinking you’re all evil?”

Connie, starting to really enjoy this little competing game, lays down her fork and looks Dorothy straight in the eyes. “Hm, well let’s take a closer look to Gryffindor then, shall we? I mean, chivalry, courage, daring? Sounds like a fratboy house to me.”

“Hey!”

“I’m kidding,” Connie says and and puts her hand on Dorothy’s. Dorothy looks surprised and when Connie realizes what she’s doing she quickly withdraws her hand again. This is the _second_ time today she reached for Dorothy’s hand. Sure, with the Thestrals it was to help Dorothy relax, but this was a _reflex._

God, why is she so impulsive today? Here she is, talking freely about her family, as if her normally very high personal boundaries have completely fallen away. And since Dorothy keeps staring at her, her self-consciousness isn’t exactly fading away.

“Can I ask you a question?” 

_Oh god._

“Sure.”

“It’s something I’ve been wondering about ever since I last spoke to you,” Dorothy says. “Y’know when you said you don’t take Charms? It kinda made me wonder, what kinda classes _are_ you following?” 

Her heart sinks in her chest. The Head of Slytherin doesn’t give a flying fuck which N.E.W.T.s she’s taking and at this point in her life she has become a master in answering _just_ the right questions her parents have, without actually telling anything at all. She supposes sooner or later somebody would’ve noticed her weird schedule.

“Why do you ask?” Even though she’s actually willing to tell Dorothy her subjects, somehow her first response is to still be on the defense. 

“I don’t know,” Dorothy shrugs. “I just noticed you don’t follow three pretty important subjects. Which is _weird_ because you have _way_ better grades than I do.” 

“I’m just not interested in them,” Connie says, which is not exactly a lie, but barely half of the story. 

Oh well, she’s been an open book so far, might as well keep it open a little longer. She reaches in her pocket for her timetable and hands it over to Dorothy. 

Curiously, Dorothy immediately lets her eyes glide of the paper. “Okay let’s see, History of Magic. Okay, boring, but not the worst. Arithmancy, well I guess Treville’s pretty cool, right? _Ancient Runes,_ holy shit, never mind, you must really hate yourself.”

Well Dorothy’s certainly not wrong, but it’s nonetheless mortifying to be taken under the loop like this. She should’ve made an excuse instead, like she always does.

“What else? Astronomy and… Muggle Studies? Okay, _none_ of these subjects actually require a wand,” Dorothy says as she shoves the piece of paper back to Connie.

It feels like her breath is suddenly cut off. Dorothy nailed it. 

“I mean, sure they’re important and no doubt useful, but it’s like you selected _all_ the theoretical subjects and none of the practical ones.” 

“Yeah, well -”

“I mean, where’s the _magic?_ It’s the best part of it all!” Dorothy rattles on. “You must be so out of practice! Or maybe you do spells in your free time? I don’t know. But aren’t you afraid of forgetting all the magic you’ve learned so far?” 

Her stomach twists. “Not really.”

“Well you _should!”_ Dorothy says encouragingly, “C’mon! We should go get your wand and practice some m-”

“Dorothy there’s _no point!”_ Connie suddenly bursts out. Her voice sounds harsh, overbearing even, in the otherwise empty Hall. 

Dorothy, standing with one foot on the ground, slowly sinks back to the bench again. 

Connie lowers her gaze to the table. “I’m sorry- I didn’t mean-”

“It’s fine.” 

Clearly nothing is fine about this whole situation. There’s an odd silence hanging over them that she wishes she could take back. If Connie wants to make it up to Dorothy, she has to say something _now._

“I don’t like magic,” Connie says quietly, her voice oddly thick. Well, that’s clearly _something._ Something she has thought so many times, yet never spoken aloud.

“Oh,” is all Dorothy says. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” 

“I don’t blame you,” Connie says. “We’re at a _wizard_ school after all.” 

“Can I- Can I ask why?” Dorothy asks carefully. 

For the first time since her outburst Connie dares to look Dorothy in the eyes again. “I… I’m not sure. Magic has always surrounded me, been a part of me. Yet, growing up, I wondered why it’s supposed to be _better_ than Muggles’ creations.”

She shakes her head. “When you start looking at magic like that, it starts to seem silly. Magic only solves the problems it created in the first place.” 

“I guess, but it’s not like there’s a clear division between the two right?”

Connie scoffs. “You clearly haven’t grown up in a pureblood family. They look down on everything Muggles do. Everything is inferior in their opinion to a wizard’s tools. Yet they fail to see how you can never make progress if you already think you’re on top of it all.” 

She never realized how bitter she is about it before, in her head it never sounded as cynical as it does now. 

“Well, I guess you got a point,” Dorothy says to Connie’s surprise. “I have noticed some wizards are elitist about it. And with all the electric devices Muggles have these days, it becomes harder and harder to practice magic without exploding someone’s computer.”

“That’s exactly my point. Magic is becoming outdated,” Connie says. “Soon there won’t be a need for it anymore. Wizards had many advantages for centuries, but Muggles are closing in on us. They’ll pass us by in no time. I mean, we use _owls_ to send our mail. Meanwhile a Muggle sends a text to someone in Australia within a second.” 

“It’s funny you say that actually,” Dorothy says. “I uh, I’ve got this group of friends. Around the world. We met via the internet, call ourselves _The Inseparables._ I’ve been talking to them for years. Usually I had to go to the library when my mom was using magic, and I obviously couldn’t tell them about me being a wizard. But ever since I’m at Hogwarts, I can only speak to them in vacations.”

“That must suck.”

“It does. I have to keep telling them lies, they think I’m at a very strict boarding school where no electronic devices are allowed. That much is true, but it’s like I have this whole secret identity I could never tell them about.”

Connie feels a sting in her stomach, she can definitely relate to that. But as much as she would like to share her story with Dorothy, the words seem to be stuck in her throat. It’s been buried to deep for too long to mention it so casually. 

“I never told anyone that,” Dorothy admits, quietly. 

“I’m glad you shared it with me,” Connie says. Oh, the hypocrisy. There’s such a perfect opening, but even if she has told Dorothy more in these past few hours than she has to anyone else the last few years, this is a secret she cannot let go of just yet.

Dorothy, appearing lost in her own thoughts, uses her fork to poke at the few cake crumbs left on the plate. Connie wonders how isolating it must feel to not be able to speak to your friends all year long. She knows the dangers of befriending Muggles, but Monty was her neighbor. She could see her everyday, she could hear her voice whenever she was outside in the garden. Dorothy doesn’t even have that comfort of a silent, shared space. Then again, it’s not like Connie has that now, either.

Dorothy’s sudden voice brings her back to the present again. “Maybe that’s why wizards tend to cast Muggles to the side, y’know? It’s easier to collectively ignore them than to lie to people you consider friends.”

Sure that’s one way of looking at it, but if Connie has learned anything over these years it’s that choosing the path of a wizard is choosing loneliness.

\--

Alex and Ariana walk up to the stone gargoyle and Alex mutters the password: ‘buttercups’. The gargoyle starts moving and a staircase appears, leading up to Anne’s office. 

“After you,” Alex motions.

“How polite,” Ariana says snarkily, and stomps her way up to the tower. 

Alex represses a sigh and walks after her. Surely Ariana should’ve known that she cannot turn a blind eye to an electronic device. Especially since Hogwarts is already experiencing so many blackouts as it is. Additional laptops are only making the circumstances worse. It’s all in the rules, and it’s not so hard to at least _try_ and follow them.

Ariana impatiently taps her foot as she waits in front of Anne’s office. “Just so you know, I’m gonna leave this office without a punishment. And you’re gonna hear about that for the rest of your days.”

“Let’s first see what the professor has to say about that,” Alex says. She’s heard plenty of threats before and none of them have managed to scare her.

She knocks on the door. “Anne, I’m here with a student. Can I come in?”

“First name basis? Didn’t know you fucked your way into being a Head Girl.” 

Alex gives her a deadly look. “Don’t be ridiculous.” 

Everybody knows being a Head Student comes with additional responsibility. There’s much more interaction with the professors outside of classes, and thus she gets to talk to them on first-name basis. It’s one of the privileges of being a Head Girl. Besides, it’s obvious from the meetings she has been in that Anne’s taking an interest in a certain professor. But it’s not like she’s going to tell Ariana that. 

“Come in, Alex,” Anne calls from behind the door. 

Alex opens the door and immediately starts talking as to not waste too much time of Anne’s already busy schedule. “Sorry for intruding so suddenly, Anne. But I busted Miss Henries on her posession of a laptop, despite it being clearly against the rules.”

“What _Miss Silleg_ fails to mention is that I actually have permission from Deputy Headmaster Professor Liu to access this laptop on the Hogwarts school grounds-”

“Which seems incredibly implausible as such exceptions seem _extremely_ coincidental for Miss Henries benefit and hers alone.” 

“My benefit alone?” Ariana scoffs. “Are you fucking kidding me? I have a permission slip _signed_ by Ricky-dick himself. You didn’t even ask me to show the paper to you!” 

Alex refuses to look Ariana in the eyes. “That’s because it’s most likely Miss Henries has faked this permission form to fool anyone who’d found out she never turned in her computer.” 

“I’ve heard _quite_ enough,” Anne interrupts their conversation abruptly. “As a matter of fact, Alex, Professor Liu has informed me of this laptop that Ariana is allowed to use on Hogwarts campus.”

Her face falters. “Wait what?”

“Ha! I _told_ you so!”

That doesn’t make any sense. How did Ariana manage to trick Rick Liu into a permission to use her laptop?

“I’m very sorry about this, Ariana. You may leave again.”

“Thank you, Professor Bonacieux,” Ariana says with a sly smile. “At least _some_ people around here know when a story checks out.” 

Alex watches as Ariana heads out of the office again, something just doesn’t sit right with her.

“Thanks for wasting my Hogsmeade weekend by the way,” Ariana says and slams the door shut.

Alex looks back at Anne, who is still sitting behind her desk. “I’m so sorry, Anne, I wasn’t aware -”

“It’s alright, Alex. Under any other circumstances it would’ve been the right call to come to me,” Anne says calming. “As a matter of fact, this is quite convenient. I wanted to talk to you about something else.”

“What is it?”

Anne stands up and walks towards Alex. “You should know that during Christmas and after, there are going to be periods of times I won’t be as much at Hogwarts as I normally would.”

“Why is that?”

“Just Headmistress’ responsibilities, nothing interesting sadly. But as you know Rick is the Deputy Headmaster, so he’s going to be in charge more.” 

“Okay...” 

After Professor Liu gave her detention for chasing Dorothy, Alex isn’t exactly his biggest fan. 

Anne stops in front of Alex and frowns. “I doubt anything bad will happen, but he’s not exactly the kindest man. And the Board of Governors adores him.” 

She’s fully aware of that. When Liu came to Hogwarts he bumped Treville out of being the Deputy within a few months and got the title himself. Sometimes she still sees the tension between them during meetings. 

“Just - Keep an eye out, okay?” Anne says. “I don’t want Hogwarts to change while I’m gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the chapter! If you want to talk about this AU you can leave a comment or shoot an ask on my [Tumblr](http://bannedfromzoos.tumblr.com)! :D


	4. Sparks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _If I could begin to be half of what you think of me I could do about anything I could even learn how to love._ (Love Like You - Rebecca Sugar)

A thick blanket of snow covers the Hogwarts grounds. High up, from the cold and frosty Owlery, Connie could hear the whistle of the Hogwarts Express. The old steam engine is roaring, but in the Owlery it sounds more like a soft whisper. The carriages are packed with students, no doubt. Only a handful of students, fourteen to be precise, would be spending their holidays at Hogwarts.

Connie withdraws herself from the open window and searches for a nice school owl. A few treats usually do the trick, and within a second she has an owl hooting eagerly to be of service. She attaches a few letters to the owl and sends it off. Letters to several family members full of empty words, how she longs to spend Christmas with her family, but that she has wisely decided to take this extra time to study. Her parents would boast among her family members how proud she makes them; sacrificing pleasure for knowledge. 

She scoffs and turns away, almost slipping on the ice on her way out. Ever since she’s been at Hogwarts, Christmas has become her favorite time of the year. It’s the only time she isn’t forced to do any magic.

Well, that is until she stupidly decided to take on Dorothy’s request to practice magic with her. Although request might be a bit too casual a word, since Dorothy pretty much begged to teach her for at least a week. With every attempt the reasoning behind it became more ludicrous. 

_“You need to keep up with what we’re getting taught this semester.” “You should be able to defend yourself in case of emergencies!” “What if your wand forgot how to produce magic?” “It’s pretty much the law of feminism to lift other women up. There’s a rulebook, y’know. You should look that up!”_

Eventually she gave in, but despite Dorothy’s infectious enthusiasm, she can’t get rid of the sickening feeling that has been eating at her. For so many years she has wanted to stop using magic altogether, to start practicing again strikes her as a step in the wrong direction. 

She enters the Slytherin common room, which is completely empty and oddly quiet without the familiar buzz of chatter filling the air. Even her dormitory, where the sound of water softly laps against the windows, seems to have a different atmosphere than usual. Or it could be that she’s just nervous what’s about to come. 

Connie pulls out her trunk and has to unpack several items before she can even see her wand at the bottom of the trunk. She takes a deep breath and grabs it. Her wand tingles in her hand, as if it’s excited to be held after such a long time. 

“I’m out of my goddamn mind,” she mutters to herself. 

She shuts the trunk and gets on her feet. They’ve agreed to meet in the Great Hall in about fifteen minutes. There’s no way she can back out now.

When she enters the Great Hall, Dorothy is already there waiting for her. She’s standing next to one of the twelve Christmas trees that fill the Hall. There’s even bewitched snow falling from the ceiling, although it never reaches the ground. 

When Dorothy turns around and spots Connie, she gives her a wave and a big smile. Unconsciously she instantly returns the smile. Meanwhile her inwards seem to be having an ongoing war as to whether she should be feeling devastating or excited. Because she really is happy to see Dorothy. And yeah, she has been able to admit to herself she’s been a bit of a romantic fool, whose crush is getting _way_ out of hand. But the real fool is someone who could say no to that smile. 

“Connie! Glad that you could make it.”

“Of course,” Connie says. “So where are we going?”

It’s not very likely they’re gonna be practicing in the Great Hall, even though Dorothy _is_ known for getting in trouble a lot. She’s not exactly what Connie considers ‘subtle’. 

“Got a real cool place,” Dorothy says, eyes twinkling. 

Dorothy motions for Connie to follow her, and suddenly the Great Hall doesn’t seem that bad a place anymore. It’s a big space, and if she somehow collapses to the floor, there will immediately be help. Now they’ll probably end up practicing somewhere far away in a forgotten dungeon, ready to be killed in a moment’s notice by the monsters that still live there.

“So where exactly is this ‘cool place’?” Connie asks.

“You’ll see.” 

Oh great. This is exactly like that Muggle horror movie Monty showed her one time. They’re the white kids that are stupid enough to go explore the haunted dungeon. Just go pet the four-headed dragon! What could possibly go wrong? 

“So how’ve you been?” Dorothy asks.

Anxiety attacks aside?

“Hm, I’m alright,” Connie says, “Very glad we finally got a two week break.”

“Tell me about it,” Dorothy says, and to Connie’s surprise they don’t take a turn to the Dungeons, but go up the Grand Staircase instead. Maybe her death will be postponed for today.

“Y’know you should be glad you don’t take Transfiguration. We got a shit ton of homework.” 

“Oh, I’ve got enough homework,” Connie says. “Treville isn’t exactly letting us slack off for the holidays.” 

Dorothy laughs. “Well, no surprises there.”

They walk all the way up to the Seventh Floor and for a moment Connie suspects they’re heading to the Gryffindor Tower, but when they walk past the Fat Lady portrait she no longer has any clue where Dorothy is heading. She isn’t so reckless to use the Arithmancy room, right? 

They turn around a corner and meet Alex, who is patrolling the hallways. Not that there is much patrolling to do now that there are only fourteen students in the castle, Alex herself included. She really does take her position as Head Girl seriously.

“Hello girls,” Alex greets them. “Staying out of trouble, I hope?”

“Obviously!” Dorothy says. “I haven’t had detention in _ages.”_

Connie sniggers. “Last week if I remember correctly.”

“Exactly! Must be a personal best.” 

Alex looks between the two of them, and as if she just got the last clue to solve a riddle, her suspicion disappears off her face. “Alright. Just remember that Professor Liu isn’t as forgiving as Anne.” 

She gives them a smile and starts to walk away. “Have fun!”

That was easy. Maybe the holiday spirit is even getting to a Head Girl as strict as Alex. Wait a minute. Or did she suspect that there was something between them..? Sure, Connie, because your dumb crush is what _every_ fricking human on this planet is concerned about.

Dorothy suddenly grabs her hand and starts rushing down the hallway, yanking on Connie’s arm. “Better move before Alex gets out of her good mood, y’know? We’re almost there.” 

“Okay, but _where_ are you taking me?” Connie says as she tries to keep up with Dorothy’s pace.

“Almost there!”

“You’re not gonna give any hints, are you?”

“Nope!” Dorothy says with a smile. “Gotta see it to believe it.” 

Dorothy slides to a sudden stop and Connie figures they’re there. But there’s _nothing_ here. Except maybe a peculiar tapestry that depicts trolls doing ballet. To make matters even weirder, Dorothy has started pacing around and mumbling under her breath.

“Dee, why are -”

Dorothy shushes her and keeps pacing up and down, her eyes focused on the ground. Then, a rumbling sound starts, and out of the bricks a door appears. 

Perplexed, Connie looks up at the sudden appearance. She never knew there was a secret passage hidden here. Dorothy just gives her a big grin as she opens the doors.

“Connie, may I present to you: The Room Of Requirement.” 

She hesitantly steps through the door. It’s an open and empty space. In the middle a long blue carpet is rolled out, covering the floor vertically. Dorothy closes the door behind them and stands next to her. “You’ve heard of the Come and Go Room, I suppose?” 

“Yeah, I have,” Connie says, slowly walking deeper into the room. “Just thought it was a myth.” 

“It’s pretty difficult to find. I only know of it because of our Quidditch Captain,” Dorothy explains. “Sometimes we practice very basic throwing skills here. Or have strategy meetings we don’t want to be overheard.” 

Connie turns around to look at Dorothy. “So, what’s your plan for today?”

“Well, the thing that always helps me fire up the most is a wizard’s duel.”

Connie’s face falters. 

“O-only friendly duels of course. I don’t want to fight you,” Dorothy says, quickly. “We can do very basic spells to, hopefully, get you remember the magic of… magic.” 

Of all the things she thought of when Dorothy offered to practice, she imagined training on a dummy. Or reciting and copying some new spells, but an actual _duel_ is way more intense. 

“Only if you’re comfortable with that though,” Dorothy says, whose sudden soft voice indicates she has noticed Connie’s reluctance. 

Everything in her screams that she should back out, but instead she says, “No, it’s okay. Let’s have a duel.”

Dorothy’s eyes light up again gives her a smile. “Okay, cool! I’ll take the right side, and you take the left?”

“Yeah, sure.” 

She walks to the opposite side of the room and takes out her wand. It tingles in her hand, but it isn’t the same feeling of recognition as before. It’s anger. It’s almost like her wand can feel how angry she is at the wizard world. How angry she is about Monty. 

_Not now,_ Connie thinks. She can’t go down that path again. Not when she’s about to duel. 

“Are you ready?”

She nods.

They both dip into the mandatory bow and take a fighting stance. Connie tries to reach for a spell, but all she can recall is Monty’s face. Her smile. Her eyes. And how they were never the same after.

_“Colloshoo!”_

Connie quickly dodges the spell, completely forgetting there are multiple spells to shield or defend herself. “Whoa, sorry.”

“That’s okay! I’ll let you cast a spell next,” Dorothy encourages her.

Right. Spells. There are so many, but there’s only one that keeps bugging her. 

_“I’m not lying, Monty!”_

_The smell of freshly-mowed grass and Monty’s hand in hers fill her senses._

_“Really? You’re saying magic is real?”_

She blinks and tries to focus on Dorothy standing on the opposite side of the room, to stay in the present. “I can’t think of anything.”

“Maybe try to disarm me?”

Disarm her. Yeah, she can do that. They had to practice the Expelliarmus spell countless of times in their second year. It’s ingrained in her memory. 

_“It’s real! I can show you!”_

A silhouette appears out of thin air, and the tall and broad man grabs Monty by her arm. Connie reaches for her. She cannot let them take her again. Not this time. Not now she has learned to defend herself. Connie points her wand at the man. He immediately takes the defense and his lips move to cast a spell, but the words she hears come from her own mouth. 

_“Obliviate!”_

A green light shoots out of her wand and Dorothy jumps to the side, barely avoiding the spell. It violently crashes into the wall and instantly bursts like a bubble. The magic sizzles and hisses before dying out, leaving a small mark where the spell hit the wall.

Her heart races in her chest. Connie takes a shuddered breath as she lets her wand fall out of her hand. 

“Connie!” Dorothy rushes towards her and tries search for eye contact. “Connie, are you okay?”

“No. I’m not.” 

“C’mon, you should sit down,” Dorothy says as she guides Connie to sit against the wall. 

Connie closes her eyes and tries to get her breathing under control again. The arm that Dorothy has swung around her shoulders feels like she is making sure she isn’t slipping away from reality again. She presses slightly into it, to actually _feel_ the present again. 

“What happened?” Dorothy asks when she has calmed down.

She shakes her head. “Bad memories.” 

“Looked like a bit more than just bad memories,” Dorothy says, carefully. 

Connie opens her eyes again. No more excuses. It’s probably best to tell her now. 

“Y’know when you talked about your online friend group? And how you feel like you’re lying to them because you can never tell them you’re a wizard?”

“Yeah?”

She takes a deep breath. “The town I grew up in was mostly elderly wizards complaining about the weather, so I didn’t really have any friends growing up. And then when I was nine Monty’s family moved in next door. She was the only other kid in the neighborhood, so Monty and I became close friends. We spent everyday together and shared everything with each other. Except - she was a Muggle.” 

Connie can still see them playing in their backyards. They spent hours making a small hole in the hedge so they could crawl into each other’s garden any time they liked.

“One day, she told me about this magic show she went to the night before. She was telling me about how fake it was, that they were all just little tricks. Then I said that magic was real,” Connie swallows. “And I could prove it.” 

Normally Dorothy would’ve made comments left and right, but this time she’s quiet, listening intensly. Even though it’s not a time Connie likes to remember, it’s nice to be heard.

“So, I went inside, grabbed my dad’s wand, and, I… did a spell I remember my dad used. Within seconds a man apparated in our garden, someone from the Ministry of Magic. He took Monty.”

“My parents got informed immediately, but because of their connections and status in the wizarding world they were able to keep it quiet. I got away without any official punishments.” 

“And Monty?”

“Normally Obliviators only erase the particular memory of magic, but… because I was so young they were afraid I was gonna tell her again. They completely erased me from her memory.” She can feel the tears in her eyes. “Everything we shared. Every thought, every feeling. It was gone.”

She clears her throat, because telling this is hard enough without crying. If she loses her voice to her emotions she cannot finish the story.

“I saw her once after that. It was at our local bakery. She turned around, looked me right in the eyes, and didn’t recognize me,” Connie says. “To have someone you love not recognize you… It hurts like nothing else.” 

“And since she was your neighbor, you got reminded of that every day, right?”

“Yeah, except soon after that they sold their house and I never saw them again. It happened so fast I’m pretty sure some Ministry wizards meddled in it.” 

“Oh wow, I’m so sorry. I really shouldn’t have made you duel me. That was a _bad_ decision.” 

“It’s okay, Dee. You didn’t know and I agreed to it.” 

“Still, I clearly pushed you too hard and I won’t let that happen to you again.” 

“No, Dee. It’s good of you to try and help me,” Connie says. “Although, next time we maybe shouldn’t duel.”

“Agreed. No more duelling.” 

Dorothy retrieves her arm from Connie’s shoulder and instead intertwines her hand with Connie’s. Somehow this feels even more intimate. Being comforted has now made place for something entirely else.

“Hey Connie.”

“Hm?”

“Please tell me next time you’re uncomfortable with something, okay? You shouldn’t push yourself past your limits.” 

Connie looks up surprised. She’s so used to doing things, pushing herself, to fit into all these moulds everyone wants her to be in, having someone listen to what she actually wants feels foreign. 

“I mean it,” Dorothy says when Connie cannot come up with a decent reply. “I don’t know how you’ve done it the last five years. Using magic while hating it. No wonder you chose all those theoretical subjects.”

“It wasn’t always that bad.”

 _“Still,”_ Dorothy says as she squeezes her hand. “You’re incredible for fighting for so long. And just so you know, I’m not gonna let these last two years at Hogwarts hurt you. Not if I got a say in it!” 

Connie smiles and lays her head on Dorothy’s shoulder. There’s an unspoken sense of comfort surrounding them, one Connie has missed for so many years. But this time there are no more secrets. It feels warm, and safe, and even more real than it ever did before. This time will be different, because this time she refuses to let it slip out of her hands. 

\--

Christmas at her parents’ is one of Portia’s favorite times of the year. Okay, _most_ days of the year are her favorite. But she has a special place in her heart for the fairy lights, and cheesy yet joyful holiday songs playing on the radio. 

Today is Christmas Eve, when her mom always cooks this big dinner, just for Portia and her parents. Actual Christmas they spend with their extended family, but today it’s just a small celebration. Ever since she started dating Ariana, she has joined the tradition as well. It took a while, but Portia has managed to even make Ariana McScrooge have a good time during the holidays. 

At least, Ariana _used_ to. 

Portia looks over to Ariana, across the table, silently eating her meal without making eye contact. Normally she always boasts about her skills, even in front of her parents. It’s odd to see her so quiet. Then again, something has been off ever since last summer vacation. Portia can feel it, she has been by Ariana’s side for over three years so it’s hard _not_ to notice the shift that has been happening. The skipping class, the vague answers, the empty promises. She only hopes they can fix whatever is wrong in time, before it’s too late. 

“I have to say darling, this is an absolute marvelous meal. I don’t know how, but it even tops last year!” Portia’s dad tries to liven up the conversation. Funnily enough, he says that every year. 

“Yeah! I _especially_ love the cranberries,” Portia chimes in enthusiastically, and under the table nudges Ariana with her foot to give a compliment as well. 

Ariana shoots up straight at the movement and gives a stiff smile. “Yes, it’s absolutely wonderful, Mrs. Vallon. I’m very lucky to be invited again this year.”

Her mother beams up at all the compliments. “Why, thank you. I’m so glad to -”

She’s interrupted by the sudden sound of a phone. Portia immediately recognizes it as Ariana’s ringtone and her eyes grow round. Is she absolutely serious right now? Number one rule in the Vallon house: no cell phones during dinners. She has told Ariana this the _first_ time she came to her house and repeated it many times since. Not _once_ has Ariana broken this rule.

“I’m so sorry, but I have to take this,” and Ariana shoots into the hallway.

Portia’s jaw drops. _Oh my god. No she didn’t. Unbelievable._

“Well, that’s a sudden turn of events,” her father says, dryly. 

“She seems to have changed quite a bit, hasn’t she?” 

Uh oh. Here comes the judgement train. 

“Does she still make you happy, honey? Not that Ariana isn’t a nice girl, but you two are so _different,”_ she says.

Yes, her mom totally has a point, they _are_ very different. But Portia has never seen it as a problem. It’s no fun dating someone who is identical to you, that’s like, dating your clone. 

“I mean, you’re still so young!” her mother goes on. “And you shouldn’t forget their are plenty of other fish in the sea.”

Portia frowns at her. “What’s that suppose to mean?” 

“It means that you don’t have to bind yourself to someone who, _maybe,_ doesn’t want you there.”

Doesn’t _want_ her there? Ariana is not the type to just linger around something she doesn’t like. No, it’s clearly something else. She just hasn’t figured out what yet.

“Just know that you deserve the best of the best, honey.”

That’s it. That was the last straw. She’s done nodding along to everything that’s said. 

“Y’know what? Ariana isn’t some prize I can exchange whenever I like. And yeah, she’s changed a bit, but maybe that has it’s reasons. Maybe she’s not in a good place right now. Maybe she’s stressed out. _Maybe_ you should try to support my choices instead of criticizing them.” 

“I think what your mom is trying to say,” her dad quickly tries to patch up the situation, “is that we always made sure you got the best opportunities, so you can flourish in life.” 

_Flourish in life?_ That comment doesn’t sit any better with her than all the previous ones. Her parents mean well, she knows they do. She’d never believe her parents would hurt her or even Ariana. They’ve always taught her to be kind and see the best in people. But what they fail to see right now is that wanting the best for their daughter isn’t the same as dumping your girlfriend and trading it for the next best thing. That’s just not how she wants to live her life; screwing people over so she can “flourish”. 

Portia takes a deep gulp.

“It’s not like I don’t appreciate your concerns, but you’re not part of my relationship with Ariana,” Portia says with a slight quiver in her voice. “And someday you gotta understand I’m someone who makes her own choices. And if that means falling down without you holding a pillow for me to fall on- well, then I’m just gonna live with the bruises.” 

She almost cannot believe she said that. Did she really just say that? Her parents’ facial expressions sure show that she _did_ just say that. 

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to talk to Ariana.” 

Portia gets up and goes into the hallway, where Ariana quickly finishes up her phone call when she hears Portia close to door. Ariana turns around and immediately stumbles into an apology. 

“I’m so sorry babe. It won’t happen -”

“Enough with the excuses,” Portia says, trying to be firm. “This is not you - leaving dinner for some weird call and then apologizing afterwards. You’re upfront about everything. So you’re gonna be upfront with me now a-and tell me who was so important to interrupt our dinner, because I’m honestly so sick of you hiding stuff from me.”

“I’m not hiding -”

“Ariana, I’m not stupid,” Portia cuts her off again, and then her voice takes a gentler tone. “What’s going on, Ria? What’s so bad that you’re not even telling me?”

Ariana sighs. Portia has clearly struck a cord. “That was Rick Liu who just called me.”

“Wait? Professor Liu?” Portia asks confused. Of all the people who could’ve called Ariana, she never expected his name to come up. “Why is he calling you?”

“He, uh, called in a favor.”

“On Christmas Eve?”

“Yeah, well, he’s an _asshole_ who is holding stuff over my head so it’s not like I have much of a choice.” 

It takes a second for her to process what Ariana just said. “That’s blackmail!”

“Keep your voice down!” Ariana hushes her immediately and motions at the other side of the door where her parents are still sitting.

“Ria, he’s _blackmailing_ you,” Portia repeats, softer this time.

“I know that!” Ariana says. “Don’t you think I would’ve done something about it if I could?”

“Why? When? How long has this been going on? Why didn’t you tell me before!?”

“I couldn’t! I had to keep quiet, or else I -” Ariana stops herself. “Look, this is bigger than just Rickydick, okay? I could get in big trouble for telling you, so I pretended like nothing was wrong. I’m not gonna drag you down with me into this mess.”

Suddenly it all falls into place.

“This has been happening since last summer, isn’t it? You’ve been skipping class to do his dirty work.” 

“Sometimes, yeah,” Ariana admits. “Sometimes I just skip classes because I can’t be bothered.” 

“So what is he making you do? What is he holding over you?”

“Babe, I honestly want to tell you, but I got forced into an Unbreakable Vow and -”

“An _Unbreakable Vow?!”_

“Sh!” Ariana motions to keep her voice down. “I know how fucking screwed I am, but I can’t say anything else. I had to swear to not tell outsiders of the work I do until I finish it.”

Oh my god. An Unbreakable Vow. That means if Ariana tells either too much or breaks any of the other terms she made, she will die. Just like that.

“When are you finished?”

Another sigh. “I don’t know. Could be months. Maybe years.”

Ariana takes her hands and looks her into the eyes. “But listen, I’m not going to die because of some stupid vow. And I’m not gonna let it ruin our relationship any longer. Look, I know I’ve been an asshole and I can’t just apologize for that, but I hope you understand where I’m coming from.” 

She nods. “I do. Sort of. It’s a lot to take in.”

Still, Portia suddenly realizes that there’s one thing she cannot stand in this whole world, and that’s not having Ariana by her side. The thought of Ariana hanging on a thread between life and death makes her throat clench. And all this time she had no idea at all. Ariana has been battling this all by herself.

Portia launches herself into Ariana’s arms. “Don’t you dare die on me!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll figure it out. I’m aces, and you know it.”

There she is. The confident and joking Ariana she knows so well. Portia loosens her grip to look at Ariana.

“No, you’re _ace.”_

“Yeah, exactly. I’m ace. That’s literally a synonym for being awesome.” 

“And I’m pan, sometimes people mistake me for kitchen utilities,” Portia jokes, but then the weight of the conversation falls back on her. “You should’ve told me earlier. I just thought you were getting bored with school, not… _this.”_

“I know. I just thought it wouldn’t take so long. I thought it would hurt less if you didn’t know about it.”

“Well, you were wrong.”

She’s tired of people wanting to protect her. Both her parents and Ariana _have_ to understand they cannot shield her forever. She’s not some precious kid who needs to be protected at all cost. She can stand on her own ground. And Ariana will stand next to her. 

“Ria, you’re gonna listen to _me_ now,” Portia tries to put on a brave face. “Stop trying to protect me from potential danger. You have no idea how much it hurts to not know what’s going on when _clearly_ something is wrong. Excluding me from your life is _not_ how relationships work. We’re a team. And don’t you forget it.” 

Ariana looks at her with a new sort of fascination, but most of all she seems relieved. Relieved she didn’t screw up her relationship with Portia.

“I won’t.” 

\--

There are many things Dorothy has fucked up in her life, and there are many more things she _will_ fuck up in her life. But tonight isn’t gonna be one of them. Tonight she wants everything to be _just_ right. She only hopes Connie has gotten her invite to join her in the Quidditch pitch at eight.

Yeah, she had to skip the Christmas Dinner, and yeah, it has been snowing since five, but that’s totally fine. Because once Connie will be here, it will all be great. 

It’s very dark outside, but when Dorothy sees a light heading in her direction her heart skips a beat. She quickly looks over to the tower, hoping everything is still in place. It’s now or never.

“Hey Dee! Why did you want to meet in the pitch?” Connie asks, “Wait, is your Quidditch ban lifted?”

“Oh god, _I wish._ No I just, wanted to uh- well. Y’know the other day? When you told me about Monty?”

“Yeah?”

“See, it got me thinking, in that moment I saw you at your most vulnerable, and you haven’t seen me at _my_ most vulnerable. So this is me, uh, showing... that.”

Connie looks surprised. “You’re most vulnerable in the Quidditch pitch? From what I’ve seen you’re pretty tough out here.”

“No. I’m pretty tough up _there,”_ Dorothy says and points to the sky. “When I’m on a broom. When I’m kicking, y’know, the _bad guys’_ ass. Or, well, the opponents. But down _here.”_

She stomps with her foot on the ground. “When I can’t fly, I kinda suck. I’m not great at school, and I get in fights constantly. People always assume I’m as great down here as I’m up there, but I’m not.” 

“Dee you shouldn’t talk yourself down.”

“I know, but here’s the thing. I actually started believing it, y’know? I feel like Quidditch is the one thing I’m actually _good_ at. The one thing I’m appreciated for here at Hogwarts. So I just focused on getting better at Quidditch.”

Dorothy takes a moment to collect her thoughts on what to say next, but if Connie can talk about her past, then she can too. “You see, my gran taught me how to fly from a very young age. But my mom hated it. She always said how Quidditch ruined her life and how it ruined my gran’s and how it will ruin mine.” 

“She hasn’t been very supportive to me, really. That’s why my gran means so much to me, because she _did_ support me. It’s why I wanted to go to Beauxbatons, to be like her. Languages be damned. But when she died the vacation before I went to school, my mother sent me to Hogwarts instead. I was so angry that I decided to do the one thing she loathed the most: Quidditch. I did whatever it took to join the team in the first year, and I did. I got in.”

Dorothy inhales sharply. “But I also still remember the Howler from my mom I got that exact same day.”

“I’m so sorry, Dee. Has she come around though?”

“A bit. Well, not really. She’s not happy that I play Quidditch, and just kinda refuses to talk about it. As if she wishes hard enough it will just go away. But that’s where she’s wrong. Because there’s nothing I love more than flying and being up there playing Quidditch. So getting suspended from playing at the beginning of this semester has been quite difficult.” 

“I can imagine.”

“Yeah, but that’s where you come in. Because, all these years I’ve just been so obsessed with Quidditch. Making my gran proud, making my mom angry. I kinda just lost track of everything else. But then we got closer and I- I feel like you actually see _me._ Not the Beater, not the screw-up. You appreciate me for _me._ If you get what I’m saying?” 

Connie smiles. “Yeah.”

“Okay, so- I just. Wait, let me show you.”

Dorothy grabs Connie’s hand and together they walk up one of the stands. Dorothy guides her up into one of the towers, where an ocean of small, warm lights are floating above the tribune. 

“What are those?” Connie asks, amazed.

“Sparks,” Dorothy says. “I made them.”

“You made them? That’s incredible.” 

“Thanks. It took me a while to get them right,” Dorothy says. “You can touch them by the way. They won’t hurt you.” 

Connie puts her finger in the air and one of the lights gently bumps into it, before floating off into another direction. 

“That tickled.” Connie looks at her. “This is magic?”

“Yeah,” she says. “I realized that I completely approached it the wrong way the other day. So today I wanted to show you this whole other side of magic, what magic means to _me.”_

Connie looks at her.

“You see, you’re looking at magic with a very rational approach. And I get why you do it. But when you’re trying to rationalize magic, it makes no sense. Yes, you’re right, it's becoming outdated. And yeah, it might become useless when we don’t make some changes. But- for me at least, magic isn't just a duel, or a convenient tool or even a race between Muggles and wizards. It's a feeling.”

“A feeling?”

Dorothy nods enthusiastically. “Yeah, you see, whenever I use magic, there's this spark inside me, that I can never explain. But I need it the way I need air in my lungs or the way I need to fly on a broom. It's... So much emotion.”

“That’s beautiful, Dee,” Connie says, and her smile fades from her face when she says, “I don't think I could ever be that passionate.”

“Really? Because when you told me about Monty, I just _knew_ that that same spark is still inside you. It's small, fragile even, but it's in there. That's why you shield it so much. Right? Because one more hit, and it goes out forever.”

Connie looks at her amazed. “How do you do it?”

“What?”

“Know me so effortlessly.”

Just now Dorothy is aware they’re still holding hands, and how close they are standing next to each other, still. “Honestly you’re the first person in a long time I actually seem to understand.” 

A spark softly bumps into Connie’s nose before zooming off again, and Dorothy can’t help but noticing how absolutely gorgeous Connie looks in the floating lights.

“So that’s why you created the sparks? To try and make me understand how you experience magic?”

“Yeah. To replicate the sparks inside me whenever I use magic. Whenever I fly. Whenever I'm happy,” Dorothy takes a deep gulp, “whenever I look at you.”

“Dee -”

Her head starts to feel slightly dizzy “Look, I know I messed up before, and maybe what happened with Monty makes you hate magic forever. I don’t blame you for that, I just. I had to try. Because I really like you, and you mean a lot to me and-” 

She gets lost in her sentence when Connie leans in closer. Dorothy has no time to even begin to admire Connie’s bright blue eyes or the nervous, yet warm smile across her face, because their lips touch and her brain just shuts off. 

She tugs Connie closer and sighs into the kiss, reaching up to tangle her fingers in Connie’s hair. Connie’s lips are so soft and her hands are gripping at Dorothy’s arms like she is the only thing keeping her standing. To Dorothy it feels more like they are flying, and Connie is the one thing keeping her from falling.

Eventually, Dorothy reluctantly pulls away. The sparks floating in the air don’t half do justice to the fireworks that have been exploding inside her. She rests her forehead against Connie’s. 

“That’s one way to say you like me,” Dorothy says. 

“More effective than words, right?”

“Oh, totally.” 

Dorothy leans in again to press a kiss to Connie’s mouth, only she’s grinning so hard that it’s all teeth and giggles. Somehow, it is still amazing, probably because there’s nobody she’d rather be kissing than Connie. 

Her stomach interrupts the moment with a terrible growl and Connie breaks off the kiss, laughing. “What was that?”

“Please ignore my stomach, I haven’t eaten anything since lunch,” Dorothy says.

“Oh my - Dee! Since _lunch?”_

“What?! These sparks were some difficult magic!”

“How long have you been up here?”

“Uh, I think it was around four?”

_“Four o’clock?”_

“Honestly, if I knew I would be getting kissed by a pretty girl like you I’d been down here since dawn.” 

“Hmhm, very smooth,” Connie says, “but you’re not gonna get any kisses till you eat some food.” 

“Well, what are we waiting for? Not a moment to lose!” Dorothy says, already running down the stairs. “Race you to the kitchens, I’m sure Fiffle has some leftovers.” 

Connie can only laugh as she follows her. “You’re unbelievable, you know that?”

Oh yes, she knows. But the sound of Connie’s laughter is now her favorite sound in the world, and Dorothy would do just about anything to keep hearing it. To keep making Connie happy. Because Dorothy knows there’s nothing more beautiful than those happy moments of sparks lighting up inside.

But these sparks that she’s feeling right now... That’s a whole new kind of magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the chapter! If you want to talk about this AU you can leave a comment or shoot an ask on my [Tumblr](http://bannedfromzoos.tumblr.com)! :D


	5. Ministry of Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dorothy discovers something weird in the forest and Ariana has to visit Rick's office. (bonus: Flawless Treville makes an appearance)

A fog hangs low over the calm water of the Great Lake. A bright, morning sun rises from behind the mountains. Dorothy slows down from her run to stand at the edge of the lake and take in the beautiful scenery. Her heart is pounding fast in her chest, and her cheeks feel frozen. There’s a silence surrounding her, and even the Forest is still asleep. Normally it freaks her out how quiet the world can be. She prefers the buzz of living creatures, reminding her that she isn’t alone. 

But she isn’t alone anymore. It’s been just about two weeks since the night in the Quidditch tower and Dorothy still can’t believe it happened. That she got to kiss Connie and could kiss her again and again and again. They’d spent the entire winter break together and it had been a long time since she enjoyed someone’s company so much. It’s like she is always pushing and fighting for a better future, not realizing she should fight for a better present instead. She cannot wait until breakfast when will see Connie again.

She turns and starts running the rest of her normal route. As the sun climbs higher in the sky she feels the world around her begin to awaken. She is less than half a mile from the castle when Dorothy hears the pounding of fast-paced footsteps approaching. She looks behind her, but realizes the noise comes from within the forest. Through the trees she sees a large herd of centaurs galloping at an unbelievably fast pace. They are shouting, but she cannot hear what they’re saying above the drumming of their hooves. As fast as they came, they disappear again, vanishing deep into the Forbidden Forest. 

“What the hell was that?” Dorothy mutters. 

She knows centaurs are proud creatures, but she has never seen them so aggressive. As far as centaurs go, the ones in the Forbidden Forest are quite gentle. Had something happened?

As if in answer, a loud roar emerges from within the Forest that doesn’t sound human nor like any beast that lives on the Hogwarts grounds. It echoes through the Forest before dying out. There’s only one way to find out what made the sound, and that’s to get closer to the source of it. 

She runs to the edge of the forest and then pauses under the treeline. There’s an eerie stillness. No sound. No animals in sight. What the hell? Dorothy walks deeper into the forest and the darkness creeps over her. In the cold air her breath condenses in small puffs of cloud. Wait a second…

“Dementors?”

She grabs for her wand and with a shaky hand holds it out in front of her. It’s not like she can cast a Patronus Spell successfully, but it’s the best defense she got. This time it won’t take her by surprise. If only she can spot it and be over with it. There is still nothing in sight. Maybe it will come when it thinks nobody is nearby. She forces herself to go completely still, ears straining to hear any sound.

The silence in the forest only seems to make her heart race faster, but nothing happens. Maybe it’s just the creepy forest. And it’s cold anyway. Her last visit to the Forbidden Forest has probably fucked her up. She should get back to the castle. 

A tree branch snaps and Dorothy immediately raises her wand to the direction of the sound. To her surprise she sees not a dementor, but something closely resembling a human form. She recognizes the distinct posture of Rick Liu, and almost gasps out loud. Dorothy quickly ducks into the nearest bush and holds her breath. There’s no way she wants to be found and questioned by Liu. 

_“Miss Castlemore, why are you sneaking around in the Forbidden Forest at 6:30?”_

_“Oh y’know. Just chillin’. In the dirt. As you do. Please don’t kick me off the Quidditch team.”_

But Professor Liu seems to have other things on his mind than students hiding in bushes. He grumbles to himself and frantically scans the area. 

“I bet you’re hiding even deeper in the forest, aren’t you?” he says, irritated, as he climbs over a protruding tree root. “You dirty giants are all the same.” 

What the actual fuck? Did she hear that right? _Giants?_ Through the leaves Dorothy watches him and waits until Rick is out of sight. 

“Holy shit, I knew it!” 

There’s always been something sketchy about Liu, and she is going to find out what he’s hiding.

-

“Giants on Hogwarts grounds?” Connie asks, skeptical. “I don’t know, Dee. That sounds pretty far fetched.” 

After her encounter in the forest, Dorothy had joined Connie at the Slytherin table for breakfast and told her everything. 

“Okay, but why would he lie about that? It’s not as if he knew I was there.”

“Maybe he just _thought_ it was a giant, but it turned out to be something else? You didn’t actually see a giant, right?”

“Yeah, but I heard this crazy loud roar. Even the centaurs fled the scene.”

 _“Or_ they could’ve just been hunting some animals. They need to eat, after all.” 

Dorothy frowns. “Why aren’t you on my side?”

Connie takes her hand. “Hey, I’m not questioning what you heard. I just think you should consider your options before accusing Professor Liu.”

“But can you _at least_ agree that he’s a fucking asshole?”

“I mean he’s good at his job, but yeah, total asshole.”

“Who is a total asshole?” Ariana asks as she plops down into the seat across from Dorothy.

“Rick the fucking prick, _obviously.”_

“Ah, Ricky Dick. Wouldn’t mind seeing him getting eaten by the giant squid in the lake,” Ariana says casually as she waves to Portia across the hall to come sit next to her. 

“I’d totally pay to see that,” Dorothy says as she takes another bite out of her toast. 

“Hey guys!” Portia says cheerfully as she joins the three of them. “What were you talking about?”

“Rick Liu’s death, apparently,” Connie says dryly. 

“Oh no, did Ariana talk you into this? We really can’t kill him,” Portia says, sounding way too innocent for this subject. “Wait. Or did he already die? Did someone else kill him?” 

“No babe, we still got a chance if need be,” Ariana says, throwing an arm around Portia’s waist. “Dorothy was just complaining about him.”

“Not _complaining,_ I saw him this morning in the forest chasing a giant!” 

“A giant?” Portia gasps. “There are no giants at Hogwarts, right?”

Dorothy closes in over the table and whispers, “just like there were no _dementors_ at Hogwarts?”

Ariana rolls her eyes. “You still on about that?” 

But Portia gives Ariana a look and suddenly looks more convinced about Dorothy’s argument. “Let’s not just ignore what we all saw that night, Ariana. He does make you do-”

Ariana clears her throat.

“Eh - do a lot of detention.” 

“Don’t you think _detention_ and those beasts in the forest are different?” 

Ariana looks sharply into Portia’s eyes. 

“How should I know? Maybe the two are connected.”

The sudden tension makes Dorothy wonder if there’s something Portia and Ariana aren’t telling them. 

“Are we- still talking about detention?” Connie asks confused. Apparently Dorothy isn’t the only one confused about the sudden turn the conversation has taken. 

“Forget it, it’s nothing,” Ariana sighs, and quickly changes the subject. “So what do you think he’s up to?”

“Well, I doubt it’s a coincidence that Anne hasn’t been on campus since winter break.” 

“She could’ve been spending time with her family, right?” Portia tries to reason.

Connie shakes her head. “No, my parents told me in a letter she was too busy to attend. Something work-related.” 

“Headmasters attend conferences and shit, right? It’s not like she vanished off the face of the earth,” Ariana says. 

“But classes started again this week and there’s no sign of her anywhere,” Dorothy says. “Can’t you guys see Rick is slowly working his way up to becoming the Headmaster? I can’t handle that. That’ll be my personal hell.”

“I agree he’s a bit sketchy, but I also think we need more evidence then Professor Liu going into the forest,” Portia says. “He _is_ the Magical Creatures teacher after all. He goes into the forest all the time.” 

“Porche is right. If we’re going after Liu, and trust me, I’m all for getting rid of that asshole, we need solid evidence.”

“Okay, Connie and I will come up with a plan. Then the four of us can investigate him and see what exactly he’s up to.” 

“Oh! You should ask Alex to join us. She gets to go to meetings because she’s a Head Girl,” Portia says. 

Dorothy nods. “Good point. Although I wonder if she’ll spy for us.”

“Gotta keep that perfect record, of course. It’ll be a challenge to get Mom on board,” Ariana says. 

“Okay, Operation Figure Out What Rick Liu Is Up To And Get Rid Of Him Before He Takes Anne’s Place As Headmaster is starting right now.” 

“You’re terrible at naming things,” Ariana laughs. “Anyway, I gotta ask, isn’t there some rule that proud Gryffindors like yourself are never to be seated at the _evil_ Slytherin table?”

“Um Ria, Connie and Dorothy are _dating?”_ Portia says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Oh?” Ariana seems caught off guard. She looks between the two of them, wondering how the hell she should’ve noticed such a thing. “Good for you guys, I guess.” 

Dorothy looks at Connie and gives her a smile. “Yeah, I’m a lucky gal.”

“So am I,” Connie says and pecks her cheek, “You’re not getting my chocolate muffin though.” 

“Worth the shot.”

\--

It has just been two weeks into the new semester, but wednesday afternoons have become Connie’s favorite part of the week. There’s a window right after Muggle Studies and just before Dorothy’s class of Transfiguration where they can spend some extra time together. Last week they visited Fiffle in the Hogwarts kitchen, but today they’re mindlessly strolling on the campus grounds. Dorothy’s hand in hers is about the only thing keeping her warm on this cold day. 

“You got detention _again?”_

“What can I say? I followed Rick the Dick for a bit, he got annoyed and decided to punish me for it. The guy’s an ass, what else is new?”

“You followed Professor Liu?” Connie asks, grinning at the idea of Dorothy the Spy walking exactly ten feet behind her mark. “Without an Invisibility Cloak?” 

“We agreed to find out what the hell he’s doing with Anne!”

Connie can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, get to know the guy. Not follow him around like you’re some weird stalker.”

“Hey! At least I tried something!” Dorothy says, but actually saying the words out loud seem to make her realize how ridiculous it must’ve been like. “You gotta start somewhere, right?”

“Yeah, you’re right. Important question though,” Connie says, trying to sound serious. “Did you carry a magnifying glass or a pipe?”

“The pipe gave me away actually.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, smoke clogged all his precious fresh air around him. Should’ve gone with the magnifying glass instead.”

They laugh and walk around another corner, into the courtyard. 

“Okay but seriously, how do we figure out _anything_ about this guy. I mean, what does he think about? What is his weakness?”

“Well, I don’t know much, but I know he has a big weakness for Anne.”

Dorothy stops dead in her tracks. “He _what?”_

“Has a thing for Anne.”

“I’m sorry, are we talking about the same Anne? Like, the Anne he’s so desperately trying to kick out of her position. _Our_ Anne?”

“Yes _our_ Anne,” Connie laughs. “My aunt. They kinda have a history together.”

“A _history?_ Oh my god, they totally dated. My idol has been tarnished by this horrible evil man and I never even knew.”

“Not dating, exactly. Remember when I told you about my cousin who died after he was born?”

Dorothy gasps in horror. “They had a _child_ together?” 

“No, actually, they didn’t,” Connie corrects her. “But it was Anne’s. She never told us who the father was. But I do remember it was around the time she just got promoted to being Headmistress of Hogwarts. Rick was still working for the Ministry and they met at some sort of conference.” 

“Then what happened?”

“Well, I don’t know the exact details, I was very young and Anne was always very busy. But I think they grew closer as the pregnancy went on. Anne decided to keep the child, and Rick was a big support for her during that time,” Connie explains. “But Rick had romantic feelings for Anne and offered to raise the kid as his own. Except Anne didn’t feel the same way.”

“Oh my god, he _totally_ got friendzoned,” Dorothy says, a bit too excited.

“Yeah, and he did not take it very well. He stuck around for a bit till the birth. But when my cousin died three days later, he was gone too.” 

“He left her right after Anne lost her son?” Dorothy says, baffled. “Wow, he truly is a dick.” 

“Yeah, it does reflect on him badly,” Connie says. “I’m glad Anne had Treville to get her through that time.”

Dorothy looks surprised. “Treville?”

“Yeah, they’ve been best friends since they went to Hogwarts,” Connie says. “Treville feels a bit like family. I’ve known her all my life.” 

“Really? I’ve never noticed she knew you outside of school.”

“Oh please, you think _Miss Treville_ would be anything but professional in a formal environment? You _have_ met her, right?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Dorothy says. “I just can’t imagine Treville in a familial setting. What’s that like?”

“When I said she feels like family, I meant _my_ family. So I see her like twice a year when my entire family meets and everyone is grilling me over how well I do in school.”

“Your family and my mom have that in common.” 

Connie squeezes Dorothy’s hand. “I know. But Treville’s pretty cool. One time she taught me some fencing. That was a fun afternoon.” 

“Treville? Fencing? Huh, you think you know a gal.” 

Connie smiles looking at Dorothy, whose frown indicates she is deep in thought. 

“But if Rick and Anne got all that history, then why is he Deputy Headmaster?”

“Beats me. They do seem to be on friendly terms these days.” 

The bell interrupts Dorothy’s reply and Connie can only curse at how time seems to fly by whenever she is with Dorothy. 

“I gotta run or else I’ll be late again.” 

“Yeah, you and detention are spending an awful lot of time together.”

Dorothy grins. “Don’t get jealous, okay?” and kisses her.

“Promise,” Connie smiles. “Now go!”

“I’m going!” Dorothy says and starts running towards the first floor. She quickly turns her head, “See you at dinner!” and almost crashes into another student. 

Connie chuckles and can hear Dorothy shout to get out of her way even three halls away. 

Talking about Anne’s complicated love life has made her realize how uncomplicated her relationship with Dorothy is. It feels so natural to be with her. It all just seems to fit. If loving someone is this easy, she wonders why it took her so long to open her heart.

\--

Nothing like starting the day by meeting Rick in his office right after breakfast. In the couple of months he has been blackmailing Ariana they’ve barely talked directly. It’s usually notes and encrypted messages. Nothing special, just Rick trying to keep track of her work. The only other time they had a formal meeting like this was back in the summer, the day before she would leave to go spent the rest of her vacation at Portia’s. 

It was too perfectly planned to be a coincidence. Her Muggle parents were both at work and Ariana was just minding her own business, laying on the couch browsing the internet, when a loud crack came from the hallway. She had just enough time to close her laptop when Rick Liu and the Minister of Magic had entered her living room. 

-

Ariana straightens up. “What are you doing in my h-”

“Ariana Henries?” the voice of the Minister booms through the house. 

“Yes?” she asks confused.

“You’re under arrest.”

“The f- On what terms?” 

Rick turns to the Minister. “Sir, you should sit down, this might take some time.”

“Yeah, sure, _by all means._ Barge into my house unannounced and accuse me of whatever shit you have on me, but let’s not forget _manners._ While we’re at it, would you like a cup of tea with that?” 

“As a matter of fact that would be delightful, thank you,” the minister says as he sits down. “Rick, you want anything?”

“Oh my god,” she mouths, and looks the minister straight in the eyes. “Why are you _here?”_

The atmosphere in the room immediately turns tense.

“Don’t think we have no idea what you’ve been up to, missy. You’re _side activities_ haven’t gone unnoticed by the Ministry of Magic.” 

She decides to play dumb. “Side activities, _sir?”_

“Combining magic with technology. Trying to _hack_ into the Ministry, I didn’t even know that was possible until you tried. We have no technology at work in the building whatsoever, but it’s like you found a way to download our files anyway. Remarkable, really. You’re practically inventing a new form of magic that works almost like a computer,” the Minister says. “Isn’t it remarkable, Rick?”

“Very remarkable, sir.” 

“Wow, you two should get a room, you are _really_ hitting it off.”

“Miss Henries this is a serious matter, you are under serious violations of the Wizardry Law.”

“Wait, you’re not inviting me to your wedding? My mistake.” 

“You almost _exposed_ our entire world to Muggles!” 

“So?” 

“There is a Statute of Secrecy for a reason, Miss Henries!” the Minister explodes. “Despite your seemingly disinterest, you’ve broken the laws several times. You can act all cool now, but let’s see how well you’d do in a place like Azkaban.”

“Excuse you? That’s quite the threat.”

“Fine. Have it your way,” the minister says and stands up. “We’ll see you in court, then.”

“Whoa! Hold up!” Ariana jumps up. There’s no way she can hold up in a courtroom against the Minister himself. “I can’t go to Azkaban!” 

A slight grin appeared on the Minister’s face. 

“Very well,” he says and sits down again.

“Alright. Let’s talk business,” Ariana says reluctantly. 

The Minister raises an eyebrow. “Business? What makes you believe I’m here for business?”

“Normally if you break the law you get a letter with a court date stamped on it. Yet the Minister of Magic has _honoured_ me with a personal visit,” Ariana says. “If you already got so much dirt on me like you say you have I should’ve been in Azkaban already. You want something from me.”

A smile curls up on his face, but it’s the disturbing kind that she doesn’t want to see ever again. 

“You’ve been bored out of your wits ever since your third year. If you put in more effort, you’d be one of the top students Hogwarts has ever had. You already exceeded N.E.W.T.s levels last year, so you’ve been doing some stuff on your own to prevent yourself from getting bored. Records here show that you have been experimenting with other forms of magic, advanced magic, sometimes even _dark_ magic. There are even reports that you’ve mastered the Patronus spell.” 

“I haven’t _mastered_ it,” she mumbles.

“Nevertheless you are a bright young wizard, who is wasting her time at a place like Hogwarts.”

“I’m not wasting my time.”

“But you _are_ bored, aren’t you?” 

Ariana frowns. “Get to the point.” 

“It would be a shame if a wizard with as much potential as you were to be be locked up in Azkaban. Especially since you’ve managed to make magic and technology work alongside each other.”

“Just for a couple of seconds.”

“It’s miles better than the result my actual team has accomplished.”

The Minister breezes out some air. “Here’s the deal, Miss Henries. We turn a blind eye to these side activities of yours, _if,_ you help us out.” 

“Doing what exactly?”

“Find a way to make magic work alongside technology. You’ve found ways to make the two forces interact. If that’s possible, it means both should be able to work alongside each other at all times. Find out a way and these papers,” the Minister taps at the file of violations. “Will somehow _magically_ disappear from our records.” 

“Just like that?”

“Just like that,” the Minister gives another horrifying smile. “Starting this september you’ll get your own little space at the Ministry and -”

“Whoa! Slow down. I still got one year left at Hogwarts, remember? You want me to drop out for your little project?” 

“You already exceed N.E.W.T. level, there’s no need for you to go to Hogwarts for another year.”

“Future employers don’t care if I already exceed it without the proper paperwork.”

“Well, I’m the Minister of Magic, I’ll make sure you get the right papers to show to your future employers.” 

She lets out a sarcastic laugh. “Sure you do.” 

“I’m dead serious,” the Minister says. “You’re afraid future employers won’t take you serious without you passing your N.E.W.T.s? I’ll make sure you pass them anyway.” 

“Well aren’t you Mister Santa Claus today.”

“You want me to redraw all these offers and sent you straight to Azkaban? I can do that if you like.”

“Fine! I’ll help you out,” Ariana breathes out, “But I’ve got one demand.”

_Portia._

“I won’t go to the Ministry. I’ll stay my last remaining year at Hogwarts.” 

“You’re nothing but bored there.”

“I stay at Hogwarts,” she repeats.

“I don’t think you understand. The space we provide at Ministry has much more resources for you to work with. It will be much easier to accomplish it and move on with your life. You even have the benefit of skipping your last year and getting your N.E.W.T.s, practically for free may I add -”

“I _stay_ at Hogwarts.” 

“But-” the minister looks puzzled at Ariana’s reluctance. 

“Sir,” Rick interrupts the conversation, his eyes are on Ariana. “Bargaining with Henries would be a complete waste of time. She doesn’t want to spend another year at Hogwarts for herself, she wants to stay for someone else.” 

His stare makes it feel like he can completely see through her. He knows the only reason she’d ever spent another year at Hogwarts is to be with Portia. 

“Oh,” the Minister says. 

“Of course this is not according to our plan, but we can’t exactly kidnap her, can we now?” Rick says.

Whatever he’s doing, Ariana knows that manipulative voice of his is up to no good. 

“I’d say it’s even better if Ariana finishes her last year at Hogwarts. It will raise less suspicion. After all, her track record shows that she has always done suspicious stuff, and gotten away with it. I believe Miss Henries has proven to be more than capable of hiding her secrets.” 

His eyes never leave hers.

“You think you can manage to keep this a secret surrounded with other students crawling over the Hogwarts ground, Henries?”

“I think I’ll manage,” Ariana stares back. 

“Well... good,” the minister tries to interrupt the staring competition. “Rick, you can watch over her progress during the year and make sure she has all the equipment she needs.”

Rick looks at him. “With all due respect, this needs to be dealt with under wraps. As Deputy Headmaster I can vouch as much as her laptop, but that’s about it.” 

“Don’t you think that will slow down the process drastically?”

“If Miss Henries so desperately wants to attend Hogwarts, there’s nothing we can do. She’ll have to go to classes and do her homework, besides working for us. However I don’t think that will be much of a problem, since she _does_ exceed N.E.W.T level.”

“So what, I can skip classes now?”

“You can do whatever you like. Skip classes and be done in time, that seems ideal, right?” Rick says with a sly grin. “However, I cannot show favoritism. If you get caught, I cannot help you get out of detention, of course.”

“Of course,” Ariana gnashes. “So are we done here?” 

“Yes, I think we are,” the Minister says and stands up and reaches for Ariana’s hand. “Thank y-”

“Sir,” Rick lays a hand on the Minister’s shoulder to slow him down. “You wouldn’t know this, since you haven’t had the _pleasure_ of seeing Miss Henries almost every day as I have. Because if you did, you’d know she is someone who isn’t one for keeping promises.” 

Brilliant. Just absolutely brilliant. One can count on Rick to always stab someone in the back. 

“If you don’t want the entire wizardry world to know about the difficulties we have with technology on such a high level, I think it’s best to make an Unbreakable Vow,” he says. “Y’know, just in case.” 

_Just in case!?_ One bad move and she can drop dead!

The Minister looks at him for a moment like he has gone mad.

“It’s just a precaution, sir. Nothing to worry about.” 

He clears his throat. “Right, you’re absolutely right. If she intends to keep to our conditions as she says she will, it won’t hurt anyone. Please grab your wand, Miss Henries.” 

She swallows, of all the possible scenarios she had imagined her last day before going to Portia’s would go, even her worst nightmares couldn’t have predicted this. 

-

Ariana takes a deep breath and knocks on door of the Headmaster’s office. Now that Anne seems to have permanently vanished of Hogwarts grounds, Rick has been deliberate enough to claim her office. He calls her in and tells her absent-mindedly to grab a seat. 

“Change of plans,” Rick says, barely looking up from his work. “Recent developments make it impossible for you to catch up here at Hogwarts. We’ll leave tonight.” 

_“What!?_ We had an agreement!”

“Yes, and that agreement has just changed.” He scribbles something down. 

“Thanks for the head’s up, asshole. But I’m not leaving,” she bites back. 

Rick puts down his quill, his eyes bore into hers.

“I know making out with that bubblehead seems most important to you now, but unfortunately for you, the world doesn’t solely revolve around you. There has been a major Breach that is putting the Ministry through hell.”

“Magic Breaches happen every day. Seems more like a job for Obliviators, not me.” 

“We’re talking the biggest Magical Breach in centuries. Obliviators can only fix a sinking ship for so long. We need to find a _solution_ to this problem, and sadly for you, you’re one of the few wizards that can help.” 

“Well I am _honoured_ that I’m the chosen one,” she can feel her throat tensen, “but I’m not gonna be pushed around by some dickhead like you.” 

“Listen, you punk. You should be glad I’m giving you time till midnight to say goodbye. I could’ve dragged your ass out of bed this morning -”

“Oh, _lucky me,”_ Ariana spits our sarcastically. “Remind me to give you the Not-As-Much-An Asshole-As-You-Could’ve-Been-Award!” 

“Sure, be angry. But let’s not forget you made a _Vow,”_ Rick says. “You’re literally bound to fix this problem or you’ll drop dead instead.” 

“Only if I tell it to someone besides you or the Minister. You can’t force me.” 

“Right, I can’t,” Rick says and holds up a file. “So I’m guessing you won’t mind Azkaban after all?”

Ariana groans. “Whatever!” and walks off.

“See you here tonight at one o’clock then?” Rick calls after her.

“I’ll see you in hell!”

“Same difference.” 

\-- 

The chatter of excitement coming from the students entering her classroom takes Treville by surprise. Normally the sixth years are exhausted the last period before dinner. Actually, she is only used to this level of excitement from the first year students when she teaches Flying. Arithmancy on the other hand, is usually more sophisticated and quieter. Not that she has ever thought anything wrong with that. The mind and body can simply not be separated from each other, both need attention and training. 

“I see you are all very excited for today’s class,” Treville says, hoping it would provoke a student to explain the sudden buzz. 

“We just had our first Apparition lesson, professor,” a student fills her in. “Dean somehow wiped off his eyebrows. It was a lot of fun.” 

“I see,” she says with a hint of a smile.

Apparition lessons have always been very exciting for every student. It’s a sign of independence and adulthood that’s approaching near. She still remembers when she went to Hogwarts and took the lessons herself. Anne had secretly helped her practice, since she was a year older and already got her license. 

“Well, I hope you can keep up this positive energy for one more hour since there’s a lot to discuss. Please open your book and-” 

As her eyes wander around the class she spots Dorothy whispering in Connie’s ear.

“Miss Castlemore,” she says sternly, “I did not know you’ve been attending this class?”

Dorothy turns pale. “Oh, I don’t. I just -”

“It’s not like I’d ever frown upon a thirst for knowledge, but as you seem to be distracting Miss Bonacieux I believe learning is not your goal.” 

While Dorothy’s talents as a Beater are extraordinary, it seems like she is unwilling to take on a certain amount of responsibility in other aspects of her life. And responsibility is something Treville has always taken great pride in.

“Well -”

“I have to say I’m disappointed. It’s like you have learned nothing since your suspension.” 

“I-It was my fault, Miss Treville,” Connie suddenly jumps in. “I asked Dorothy to come with me to class, because I didn’t want to go alone.” 

Treville raises an eyebrow. That’s an interesting development. She has been acquainted with Connie for a long period of time. Obviously she has only seen her when she was visiting the Bonacieux family together with Anne, but she’d like to think she has some sense of her personality. 

“Very well then,” she says. “Miss Castlemore, please leave now and you’ll go with a warning only.”

She sighs of relief. “Thank you, Miss Treville sir ma’am.” 

Dorothy quickly turns to Connie and pecks her cheek. “See you at dinner.” 

That takes Treville by surprise, only for a moment, then her brain catches up. It should have been obvious, all the signs pointed to it. It’s just that she has seen Connie outside school and she firmly believes in a strict separation between her professional and personal life. She would never pry into Connie’s love life let alone make assumptions about who she dates. If it was any other student than Connie she probably would have seen the signs and known it in an instance. 

When Dorothy closes the door behind her Connie quickly explains “Dorothy’s my girlfriend, so-” 

Treville blinks and realizes she has been staring at Connie. Her cheeks are flushed but her smile shines brighter.

“I didn’t need an explanation, Miss Bonacieux.”

Connie’s smile gave all the answers away.

She continues teaching the class as if nothing happened, but in the back of her mind everything is racing. Suddenly she sees Dorothy in a whole different light and there are similarities she can see in her younger self when she was a Hogwarts student. Despite being a lot more disciplined than Dorothy, she does know that they are fiercely dedicated to something or someone. There’s no way Dorothy would ever let anyone hurt Connie and she knows that she would do anything to protect Anne, even back when they both still wore Hufflepuff ties. 

Besides, Connie is a sensible young woman, she could be a really nice balance to Dorothy’s more impulsive sides. Maybe she shouldn’t be the one judging Dorothy. After all, if it’s one thing she knows, it’s how charming a Bonacieux woman can be. 

\-- 

“Ariana?” a sleepy voice mumbles.

She looks at Portia, who is resting on her chest. 

“Hm?”

“You’ve really been spoiling me tonight.” 

She would hardly call cuddling in bed and watching old episodes of Portia’s favorite shows ‘spoiling’. Although she refrained from complaining, which was hard on it’s own since the laptop kept crashing. But tonight’s the last night she gets to spend with Portia, probably in a long time. 

“It was your night, remember?”

“I know, but...” the rest of the sentence is lost as Portia slowly falls to sleep.

Ariana still knows what she’d be saying. Tonight hadn’t differed much from any other night where one comes over to the other’s dorm and they watch shows together until they fall asleep, but even to Portia it must’ve _felt_ different. 

Ariana hasn’t even been able to tell her she will be leaving. How could she? She would just be disappointing her, just like she let her down during christmas dinner. As much as she’d like to be a team, getting blackmailed isn’t really something she’d call ‘team spirit’. 

She strokes her hair and listens to Portia’s breathing evening out. Sleeping, Portia looks so at peace, who is she to wake her up again just to disturb her with dreadful news? 

The clock hanging in the girls’ Hufflepuff dormitory shows she has only twenty minutes left. Her heart is beating fast in her chest and it feels like she swallowed a brick. 

“Porche, I -”

The words are stuck in her throat. Forget it. There’s no way she can say it all. Portia already freaked out when she thought Rick Liu was blackmailing her, never mind the Ministry doing it. And even if the Unbreakable Vow wasn’t holding her back what could she possibly say? _Hey babe, either I do some sketchy stuff with the Ministry or I go to Azkaban for the shit I’ve done!_ She’d give her a heart attack. It’s probably best this way.

Slowly, Ariana gets out of the bed and pulls the blanket over Portia. She sits down on her knees and rests her arms on the mattress. Just for one more moment she wants to look at her, in the low lighting of the dorm. Just one moment of quiet, before Portia’s roommate starts snoring and their other roommates come back from their Astronomy class. 

Ariana sighs and kisses Portia on the top of her head. 

“I love you,” she says, softly. “I’d be kicking my ass telling me what a sap I am, if I didn’t love you as much as I do.”

She sighs. “I just- I hope I’ve been showing that too.”

“Ria?” Portia mumbles.

Ariana strokes her hand and shushes her soothingly. 

“It’s okay. I’ll be back,” she whispers. “Go back to sleep.” 

She takes a few more minutes to wait until she knows Portia is definitely sleeping. Then it’s time to let go of her hand and leave the dorm. 

When she crawls outside the basement there’s nothing else that can distract her for the night. She has to go to Liu’s office. She has to go to the Ministry and work out a way to get magic and technology interact with each other. But on her way to the office, all that’s on her mind is Portia, and how she’ll wake up not knowing that Ariana left. There is a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. After everything that Portia has forgiven her for, she wonders if this will be the time when she won't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the chapter! If you want to talk about this AU you can leave a comment or shoot an ask on my [Tumblr](http://bannedfromzoos.tumblr.com)! :D


	6. The Breach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ariana is gone and Portia and Dorothy want to get some answers.

Dorothy lays with her head on the Gryffindor table. Why are mornings so hard? Who decided breakfast should be served so early? How in the _hell_ did she ever manage to get up at six and go for a morning run, a few weeks ago? And why is her brain producing this many questions? It’s too early. Please stop. 

“Morning Dee,” Connie says, voice chipper as she sits down next to her. 

When she doesn’t reply Connie lays her hand on Dorothy’s back. “Hey, you okay there, honey?”

Dorothy groans in confirmation and lifts her head up. “Just grumpy. Rough morning.” 

She kisses Connie good morning, which lifts her spirits a bit. “Stayed up late, finishing my Transfiguration homework.” 

“Okay, just make sure to drink your coffee then,” Connie pats her back and then reaches past her to grab the cereal. 

Dorothy takes a sip from her coffee and hopes she starts acting like a human again soon. “How do you manage to function in the morning?”

“I like sleep and I finish my homework during the day,” she says. “Maybe try it sometime?”

“Oh Connie, we can’t _both_ be the perfect one in the relationship. And I’m not gonna let you take that title easily.”

She smiles and kisses her cheek. “Welcome back from the grave, Dee.”

There’s a silence and Dorothy gasps. “Oh my god… I can’t think of a good comeback. Can you believe this? Not two seconds have passed and you've already stolen my perfect title.”

“You’re still perfect, Dee,” Connie says, “also one of my roommates snuck in some coffee this morning.”

“Oh! Cheater!” 

“Guys?” 

A panicked Portia appears at the table. “Have you seen Ariana by any chance?” 

“No, I haven’t, but I’m still on my first cup of coffee so I might see her soon.”

The joke lands flat and Dorothy just realizes now how upset Portia looks.

“Portia, everything alright?”

“Ariana came over last night, and she’s _always_ there when I wake up again. But this time I woke up, and I thought maybe she’s at the bathroom or something. But my roommates told me that when they came back from Astronomy, Ariana wasn’t there anymore.”

“Maybe she had to run some errands?” Connie suggests.

“I don’t know. I thought she’d be here by now,” Portia looks around the Great Hall. “Have you seen her in the Slytherin common room?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I have. I can ask one of her roommates though?”

Her shoulders drop. “That’s okay. Now that I think about it, I doubt she went to the Slytherin dungeons.”

Whatever it is Portia thinks happens to Ariana, Dorothy can tell she has already given up. But just because Dorothy’s having a bad morning, doesn’t mean she wants one of her friends to have a bad one too.

“Hey, you should sit down and eat something, Portia” Connie encourages her. “I’m sure Ariana will show up.” 

Portia nods and grabs a seat, but doesn’t seem convinced in the slightest. 

“Maybe you need to think about something else,” Dorothy suggests, slightly helplessly. “Do you have any classes today?”

“I think I have Herbology and Charms in the afternoon,” Portia says quietly. 

Dorothy and Connie exchange a look. They’ve never seen Portia this sad before. 

“Uh, well, maybe Dee and I can help you with anything? Grab your books or something?”

Portia shakes her head.

“Oh! I’m sure Fiffle would be willing to make you a special strawberry cake. You like strawberry, right?”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll be fine,” and pokes listlessly at her half-empty plate.

Dorothy gestures helplessly for Connie to jump in, but Connie shrugs, just as bemused. Thankfully, their awkward conversation gets interrupted by the morning post. Dozens of owls fly into the Great Hall and deliver their post. An old, grey owl lands gracefully next to Connie and she retrieves a copy of the Daily Prophet from him. 

“Thanks Hubert,” Connie says to the family owl and offers him some crumbs of cereal. 

“Your parents still send you the news every day?”

“A young girl _has_ to keep up with current affairs, Constance,” Connie says in a high-pitch snobbish voice, the one Dorothy instantly recognises as Connie’s imitation of her mother. 

“Boy, will they be disappointed when they realize you only fill in the crossword puzzles.” 

“I read what catches my eye,” Connie says, and adds teasingly, “Also you’re not one to judge, you only look at the pictures and draw moustaches on them.”

“A centuries old human tradition I’ve sworn to personally keep alive,” Dorothy says seriously. 

Connie chuckles and unfolds the newspaper with a flourish. In a flash Dorothy sees a headline in big bolded letters on the front page that she only hopes she misread. 

“What the hell!?” Dorothy says and grabs the newspaper from Connie’s hands. 

“Hey!”

“Look at this!” Dorothy points at the article, voice shaking with anger.

HEADMISTRESS BONACIEUX UP FOR TRIAL!

Last night the Hogwarts Board of Governors has voted unanimously for the suspension of Headmistress Anne Bonacieux. The Board decided on a sudden meeting when it came to light from sources within the Hogwarts Castle that several dangerous magical creatures have been sighted on the school grounds. While The Prophet is unclear about the number of creatures that have been allowed to enter, the source reveals that among the creatures were giants and dementors (XXXXX classification). “The question of whether she let the magical creatures on campus herself is unimportant. The main concern is that these beasts have been able to enter at all,” the Board states. “A Head who can’t guarantee the safety of our children is a threat and must be dealt with seriously and immediately.” For the safety of the students Miss Bonacieux is hereby suspended as Headmistress until further notice. A trial will follow this week that will determine her future.

  


“What the actual fuck!” Dorothy crumbles the paper in anger and throws it away, “This can’t be true! Did you know?”

Connie shakes her head. “No, I didn’t. I had no idea this was happening.”

“How dare they? Anne’s literally the best thing that ever happened to Hogwarts. I’ll personally get those fuckers off the Board! And then I’ll knock some sense into them!” 

Connie lays a calming hand on her shoulder. “Or, you could breathe for a second and calm down?”

“This is your aunt we’re talking about! You’re just gonna sit there and take these accusations? You know they’re not true!”

“No, of course not. But for one, I don’t like punching people, and secondly, it’s not the Board you need to go after. After they found out, it’s only natural the Board would vote for a suspension. It’d be suspicious if they didn’t. If anything, you need to go to their source of information.”

Dorothy crosses her arms. “Well, that’s completely _useless_ because the source was anonymous.” 

“Dee, read the article again. It mentions a sighting of a dementor and a giant. Both of them you saw. You have no proof about the dementor, but you do know of one other person who definitely saw the giant.”

 _“Rick!”_ Dorothy clasps her fists on the table. “That son of glitch! I should’ve known it was that asshole!” 

“Rick Liu?” Portia suddenly speaks up, with a small waver in her voice. “Did you say Rick Liu?”

The sudden vibe of quiet anger hanging around Portia throws Dorothy off. She’s not used to Portia seeing angry, or actually expressing any emotions except positive ones.

“I should’ve known it was him. He made Ariana disappear.”

“I don’t think I follow,” Connie says.

“He’s been blackmailing Ariana. Ever since this summer.”

 _“What?_ Portia! With what?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. She got forced into an Unbreakable Vow. I barely know anything. I just know she has been doing his dirty work. And on the day he gets one step closer to becoming Headmaster, she goes missing.” 

“That does sound sketchy.”

“Sketchy? The man’s downright evil!” Dorothy says. 

Portia shudders and grabs her wand. “I’m going to get some answers. _Now._ Who’s with me?”

“I’m game! Always!” 

“I don’t think I should get involved,” Connie says carefully.

“Sure, that’s f-”

“Fine. That’s fine,” Portia cuts in, sounding restrained. She holds her wand so tight Dorothy is worried it might actually break. 

“Portia?” Dorothy asks, suddenly concerned.

With cold eyes she looks right at Dorothy. “I need to know she’s safe.”

“And if not...” she stares into the space between Connie and Dorothy. Whatever she’s seeing in front of her, it’s certainly not breakfast in the Great Hall.

“... I will burn that man to the ground.” 

\--

The first bell of the day rings, and Alex has about five minutes to run to the other side of the castle to get to Potions class in time. The halls are crowded and students are rushing. She hears snatches of different conversations, all of them repeating the same sentences over and over again.

_“Did you hear the news?” “Anne will be forced to resign!” “A trial! That’s gonna be brutal!” “Do you really think she’s behind it all?” “My mom always thought she was no good!”_

Alex comes to a sudden halt, and the student walking behind her snarls at her as he passes by. She knew Anne was in trouble when she told her all those months ago she’d be gone more. But to have the Board of Governors turn against Anne is something else. Honestly, she’s been naive, knowing full well Liu had the Board in the palm of his hand. Anne had warned her that Hogwarts might change when she was gone. She should’ve been more on her guard. Not just continue to take everything at face value. 

The second bell rings and Alex is officially late for class. That’s a first. She looks around and the halls are empty. In her mind she’s already running towards the dungeons and making up some sort of excuse. She can’t let her good record go to a waste. It’s not what a Head Girl should do. She’s always on time. She never skips classes. She keeps up with her homework. This is not like her at all. Then why aren’t her feet moving? 

Actually, she knows why. Because the _one_ thing that can make her ignore her own morals, is when she feels a friend needs her more. Without hesitation she turns toward the stairs, heading all the way up to the seventh floor. 

If there is one thing she learned in life, it’s that the people you love can hurt you the most. And another thing she learnt the hard way is that relationships are fragile. No matter how good it seems from the outside, no matter how happy a couple may seem, there is always a fight underneath the surface waiting to happen. It’s all she ever saw growing up. Her parents kept fighting. At first they tried to hide it, but by the end of it they never even bothered looking if she was right in front of them. It was like she didn’t even exist to them, only as a prop to negotiate over. Even after the divorce, the effects never really left. Her mom moved into an apartment that, no matter how many times Alex visits, never grows familiar. And her dad was left in a house that’s too big for him filled with far too many memories. That house feels even less familiar to her these days. 

Alex crosses the empty Arithmancy room and knocks on Treville’s door. 

“Jeanne? You in there?”

She hears some rumbling before Treville answers. Alex opens the door a crack, to get a quick glance at how Jeanne is doing. She seems definitely off her game, but Alex has seen much worse.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to check if everything is okay.” 

Treville jumps to her defense. “What makes you think I’m not well?”

“Well, uhm… Anne?” 

“What about her?”

Alex sighs. “I’ve been to the teacher meetings, Jeanne. I see the way you look at her. Please don’t pretend you’re not in love with her.” 

Her face falters. She clearly has crumbled Treville’s only defense, which seemed weak at best.

“Oh. Right. Uh, come in then,” Treville says and quickly adds, “Close the door please.” 

Alex sits down and catches a whiff of the alcohol on Treville’s breath. It’s not even that much, but she has years of practice smelling it on her dad. 

“How do you know about Anne?” Treville asks promptly. 

“Everybody knows. There’s a whole article in the Daily Prophet about her trial.” 

“About _me_ and Anne,” she clarifies.

“Oh.” Anybody with a pair of eyes and a brain can figure it out, if she’s being honest. Then again, not everybody is as receptive to the little gestures. “I kind of noticed it during those meetings.” 

Which is a loose translation for: I’ve known for several years.

Treville folds her hands on her desk and clears her throat. “Very well, then.”

“I didn’t come here to make you uncomfortable,” Alex quickly explains. “I just wanted to check on you.” 

She gives her a polite smile. “That’s very kind of you, Alex. But I’m an adult who can take care of herself.”

“Fair enough, but adults can get hurt too.” 

“Anne will be fine. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“So I assume you always drink scotch with your breakfast then?”

She bites her lip. Her last comment hangs like a dagger over the conversation. She realizes she was no longer talking about Treville.

“I’m sorry, that was out of line,” Alex mumbles, avoiding Treville’s gaze. “It’s just. My-”

“I know. All teachers are aware of your home situation, Alex.” 

She nods. She’s glad she doesn’t have to say the words out loud. It’s moments like these she remembers why she doesn’t like talking about it. She is the reason her parents have to keep in contact. If they didn’t have to fight over alimony or who gets her on which dates, they might have moved on by now. Her father wouldn’t have to drink to forget and her mother wouldn’t have to drown herself in her workload to keep moving forward.

“It was nice of you to check on me, Alex, but I assure you I’m doing fine,” Treville steers the conversation back to its origin. “As for the drink, it’s not for forgetting, it’s for courage.”

She looks up. “Courage?”

“To protect the one I love,” Treville says. Alex can hear a sense of pride when she says the words out loud. 

“Anyway, as much as your concern is appreciated, I can handle the situation myself. And I believe you are late for class, aren’t you?”

Her stomach turns. “Y-yes.”

“Go. If you get into trouble tell your teacher I needed to speak with you.”

She smiles appreciatively. “Thank you, Jeanne” and heads for the door.

“Alex,” she calls after her. “I know you like order, because it gives you a sense of control.”

These words catch her attention. It’s like Treville just opened a drawer in her brain that’s so obvious that she didn’t even bother looking in it. Alex turns her head.

“As long as you stay on top, have that control, you don’t get hurt, right?”

Passion burns in Treville’s eyes. 

“But once in awhile, you gotta let loose.”

\--

“Portia! Wait up!” Dorothy yells after her.

There’s no time. Not one second to waste. She’s gotta find Rick. He’s responsible for Ariana’s disappearance. She needs to know she’s safe. She _has_ to find her. 

“Portia..? Can you hear me?” 

“Perfectly!” she says, not slowing down an instance. 

“O-Okay, I thought, maybe... Because you seem kinda mad-” Dorothy’s sentence wanders off, but her steps indicate she is still following Portia towards the Headmaster’s Tower. 

Portia opens her mouth, but nothing comes out of it. There are no more words left to say. There’s only one thing her brain can focus on, and that’s confronting Rick. She knows she’s being an asshole to Dorothy right now, but her own thoughts scare her. If she says them out loud, she cannot take them back. She reminds herself to apologize to Dorothy later, when it doesn’t feel like her world is on fire. 

The stone gargoyle jumps to the side when she says the right password. One of the many benefits of having a hacker girlfriend is she keeps an up to date list of all the passwords at Hogwarts. The stairs start moving, and Portia realizes that if she climbs up, there’s no turning back. 

There’s a reason Portia has always wanted to become a Healer. Not because it’s a respected job in the wizardry world, or because healers are amongst the most powerful wizards. It simply because she has always wanted to help people. Make them feel better. Make them smile. There’s no bigger reward than helping others. It’s probably why she's always fixing things. Why she keeps giving second chances. Because in a world that hurts so much, there _has_ to be good in people. There simply has to. Otherwise the world just becomes an insufferable place. So there has to be good in Ariana too, because she makes Portia happy. She knows her, and she still loves her. Even though Ariana can be too absorbed in her own headspace and be a selfish asshole sometimes. 

The thing is, Portia has always told herself that selfishness is wrong. That the _real_ reward is in selflessly being there for someone else, at all times. But maybe selfishness is not a bad thing. What she’s forgotten all these years, is to take care of _herself._ To put herself first place. Because her voice matters too. 

She balls her hands into fists and steps purposely onto the stairs. She's going to be selfish right now. The only thing that matters is Ariana's safety. No more asking nicely. No more doormat. Just brute force.

_“Alohomora!”_

The door of the office swings open and Rick Liu looks up, surprised. Portia bursts into the room and walks up to him.

_“Expelliarmus!”_

Rick’s wand flies off into the air.

“What the-” 

“I want answers,” Portia points her wand at his chest. “Right. Now.” 

“Well, Vallon,” Rick says taken aback. “It might be helpful to tell me what answers you’re looking for.” 

“I know you think I’m just a dumb airhead, but I’m not a total ditz. I know you’ve been blackmailing Ariana and I need to know if she’s safe!” 

“Calm down, will you? She’s safe. She’s doing her work at the Ministry now.”

“Work? What work? And why at the Ministry?”

“I thought you weren’t a total ditz.”

Portia raises her wand to his chin. “Better be careful.”

“Yeah, Rick the Dick, it’s two against one!” Dorothy chimes in, as she walks into the room and raises her wand. “Now start singing or get toasted!” 

He looks between the two of them, weighing his options. Then he raises his arms in defeat. "Okay. Okay, I'll tell you what's going on. It won't take long until the story breaks anyway." 

He seems to be waiting for one of the girls make a move, but Portia isn’t planning to move one jolt. Ariana may be safe, but she still doesn’t know what’s happening to her. Apparently the issue runs deeper than she thought. And there’s no way she is going to lower defenses until she knows exactly what’s going on with her.

“Uh, you gals wanna take a seat, maybe?”

"I'm fine right where I am,” Portia says.

"Fine. Can you at least not poke my eye out with your wand?” 

Portia takes a step back, but keeps her arm raised. “Now tell me what’s going on.” 

“And don’t leave anything out! We’ll know when you’re lying, Ricky,” Dorothy adds.

“First of all, I’m your superior so stop calling me-”

“Stunning spells!” Portia interrupts. “I’m excellent at them. Don’t change the subject if you wanna remain unstunned.”

Rick watches her for a moment, seemingly impressed. “Memo received. Well, as you may know the wizardry world is currently under attack.”

“By whom?” Portia asks.

“The modern world, basically. You may have noticed the power outages. There’s a reason you have to turn in your electronic devices at the beginning of the year. Magic doesn’t work alongside technology.”

“Yeah, tell us something we don’t know.”

“Patience Castlemore! Ever listened to a story? I’m not finished yet,” Rick snaps back. 

He sighs and continues. “The Ministry has tried for years to find a way overcome this. If technology going rogue isn’t dangerous enough, phones are everywhere. People snap pictures, make videos of people performing magic. Most Muggles are stupid enough to think it’s some sort of special effect, but this has put the Ministry under great pressure. According to the Statute of Secrecy, the magic world has to remain hidden.” 

“What has any of this to do with Ariana?”

“Because, Vallon, your girlfriend is one of the few people walking on this earth that is succeeding with this ‘technomagic’ so to speak. She uses technology to influence magic and vice versa. If we can control the glitches, both can live alongside each other.” 

“So you blackmailed her, forced her into an Unbreakable Vow and then abducted her?” Portia voice rises. “Real classy.”

“Henries should consider herself _lucky_ she got such a deal out of the Minister. If not, she would’ve been in Azkaban by now for all the crap she’s been pulling since the _moment_ she learned she was a wizard.”

Dorothy, who had been standing back behind Portia this whole time, finally steps closer. “That might be true, but that doesn’t explain why you wanna get rid of Anne.”

“I don’t wanna get rid of Anne.”

She gestures to the room. “Says the man sitting on her throne.” 

“You honestly think I’m here by choice? Teaching you _children_ all the same basic nonsense while I could be Head of the Department of Magical Creatures?” Rick scoffs. “I’m here, because I’m _forced_ to. Just like Henries is forced to do her job. Ever since I joined Hogwarts as a teacher, the Ministry has had tabs on everything that goes on around here.”

“Boohoo, poor you,” Dorothy mocks him. “So since the Minister is mean to you, you decide to be a dickhead to everyone else?”

Rick looks at her menacing. “Only the ones that ask for it.”

Dorothy raises her wand and points it at him. “You’re the one who brought those magical creatures on campus. _You’re_ the one who wants to hurt Anne and take her position as Head of Hogwarts!”

Rick starts laughing uncontrollably, but Dorothy rant carries above it.

 _“You’re_ the one who has never given me a chance. You hated me on sight. You hate that I’m Gryffindor like you. You give me detention whenever you _feel_ like it. You hate me so much that you kicked me off the Quidditch team. Yeah that’s right. I know your plan. You plan to suspend me as long as I am at Hogwarts. Formally speaking, I’m still on the team, but actually, you just kicked me out. It’s like a fucking game to you! A game you know you’re going to win because you’ve got more authority than I do! You make my life a living hell because you have always hated me, _admit it!_ Admit that you’re just a bully pretending to be a teacher!”

His chuckle turns into a grimace on his face. “Oh Castlemore, I’m many things, but don’t flatter yourself. You think you’re that special to me? I keep bullying you because I hate you? Please. You’re just a hothead getting in trouble for attention. You’re just another imbecile, who smudges the reputation of Gryffindor’s chivalry.”

“How dare-”

“You mistake recklessness for bravery. Just like you mistake your suspension as a personal attack.”

“What else would you call it? A _miscommunication?”_

“I suspended you because I need the Rocheforts’ to vote the way the minister wants them to vote. Rochefort is happy being a Beater. If Rochefort is happy, his parents are happy. Thus ensuring they’ll vote the way we need them to.”

This raises the attention of both girls.

“Vote? What vote?” Portia asks, strengthening the grip around her wand.

Rick curses under his breath. “There’s a vote happening March 8. Influential wizards across the world will come to London to discuss the matter and vote. Nothing special, just politics. That’s all.”

Whatever this vote is, Portia knows that Professor Liu just slipped up on something he wasn’t suppose to tell. Even if it has nothing to do with Ariana, there’s no way they should stop digging in this goldmine now they’ve got him under their thumb.

“What will people vote on then? And if it’s so global, how come nobody knows about it yet?”

“Safety measures. The news won’t break to the public until the day of the vote. The Ministry is afraid of potential riots.”

“And the subject?” Dorothy asks.

Rick groans. “If only students were so _nosy_ during classes.”

Portia pushed her wand closer to Rick’s chest in synchrony with Dorothy.

“Fine! It’s about the International Statute of Secrecy,” Rick says. “It will be a vote on whether it should be revoked or not.”

“Revoked? Which means that we don’t have to keep magic a secret anymore?”

“And they say Hufflepuffs aren’t smart,” says Rick sarcastically.

“That’s why you want to become Headmaster,” Dorothy says, having put two and two together. “Anne’s got a vote because she’s Head of Hogwarts, doesn’t she? But you’re in the Minister’s pocket. If you become Head, you’ll vote the way he wants to.”

“Now you’re making me sound like I’m whipped.”

“I _knew_ it was you,” Dorothy says, her voice oddly low. “I knew you brought all those monsters on campus so you could pin it all on Anne.”

“I _brought_ them on campus? I made them go away!” Rick objects. “You do realize _why_ I used to be Head of the Magical Creatures Department, right? I can speak almost all of their languages. I’ve studied them, I’ve talked to them. I know their troubles, concerns. And that was what these creatures were.”

“Trouble?”

“They were _concerned._ Concerned about the vote that’s about to happen. Yes that’s right, there are representatives of different species. After all, this troubles them too. They know they can talk to me so they sought me out.”

“So technically they _did_ come here because of you,” Portia says.

“And if you’re the only one talking to them, you can steer them into a direction the Minister wants them to vote,” Dorothy adds. “We all know you’re just one big smooth-talker.”

“One of my most treasured qualities,” he says with a sly smile. 

Behind them, a door swings open and Treville bursts into the room, holding a fancy rapier.

“Rick Liu! I challenge you to a duel!”

“Get in line.” 

Treville looks up, surprised that she isn’t the only one in the room.

“Miss Vallon?” Treville asks confused as she lowers her weapon. “And Miss Castlemore, of course. I should’ve known you’d be at the scene of the crime.”

“Hey! I didn’t-” 

“Funnily enough, Castlemore wasn’t the one who disarmed me. A delightful change if I do say so myself.”

“Very well,” Treville raises her sword again. “I might as well have some witnesses. Rick, due to a difference of interest I _demand_ that I vote in Anne’s place.” 

He scoffs. “She’s no longer Headmistress, and you know it. This trial will be the end of her. She has lost her vote, and as Deputy I’ll be next in line to be Head of Hogwarts.”

“However, she is only suspended. She won’t lose her vote until the she’s permanently removed as Headmistress.”

“A small technically to fixate on, since her trial will be this week and the vote won’t happen for another two. It’s a lost battle.” 

“Except she _will_ be still Headmistress by that time. Her trial date has moved up to March 8, same day as when the vote happens.”

 _“What?_ Impossible!” 

“Funny, I thought someone like you ought to know how easy it is to bribe a minister.” 

Rick chuckles as if he’s suddenly become a maniac. “Oh, Treville. You’re good. Very good. I should’ve taking into account that Anne would always have her loyal _puppy_ by her side to protect her.”

“Let me remind you, _Professor Liu,_ that while Anne very much respects you and your opinion, your love for her has always been unrequited.”

“And yours has never been consummated, because you both decided to prioritize your work,” Rick says. “I think we’re both equally pathetic.”

“I disagree. Because unlike you, Anne chose me. And while we may not be together in a traditional relationship for now, my love equals hers.” 

“And all you had to do was what? Pine for over ten years? Lucky you.” 

“Patience is a virtue, Liu. I doubt you’ll ever take the time to learn that,” Treville says. “So I’ll make sure my message is clear enough for even _you_ to understand.” 

She throws the rapier into the air, picks it up above her shoulder with her right hand and launches it into the direction of Rick. It bores right into the chair, in the small space between his arm and his chest.

“JESUS WOMAN!” Rick screams. “What the fuck is wrong with you!?”

“You hereby give me the right to go to the vote in Anne’s place.”

“Yes, fine! Merlin’s beard, do whatever the fuck you want, just don’t kill me in the process.”

“Excellent.” 

Treville stalks over to Rick. When she gets close enough to touch him, he whimpers. A triumphant smile appears on her face. 

“I look forward for our battle to continue at the day of the vote,” Treville says and retrieves her rapier from the chair. She turns around and gives a nod to the two girls. “Miss Vallon, Miss Castlemore.”

She walks out of the room with as much class as she entered. Portia looks over at Dorothy, who still has her mouth wide open. Who the hell knew Treville was _this_ badass? 

“999, I think I just witnessed a murder,” Dorothy says in awe. 

“Don’t you two have classes!?” Rick snares at them, still clutching the desk. 

They rush out the room, but they pause outside and share a look, forgetting for a second why they went to Rick’s office. But through the haze of excitement, they both seem to make the same mental note: 

_Never_ fuck with Treville.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (treville picks up rick and dunks him into the garbage. fucking obliterated)  
> Thanks for reading the chapter! If you want to talk about this AU you can leave a comment or shoot an ask on my [Tumblr](http://bannedfromzoos.tumblr.com)! :D


	7. The Vote

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the vote and Anne’s trial happen and the wizarding world as they know it may cease to exist forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies this chapter took some time. Mental illness has smacked me in the face once more, making it difficult to concentrate on anything at all. However, this chapter is 2-3 times bigger than a normal chapter, so I hope that makes up for the delay! :)

“Connie!”

She opens her eyes and barely surpresses a shriek. In the dark she can only make out two eyes a few inches from her face.

“What the hell, Dee!” Connie whispers angrily. “You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“Sh! You’ll wake up your roommates.”

“Why are you here? It’s the middle of the night!” 

“Five AM, actually. Time to rise and shine,” Dorothy says with a grin. “I already assembled your outfit for today.”

“W-what?” 

Her sleepy brain tries to figure out if she forgot some sort of weird morning date she agreed on when Dorothy looked at her with puppy eyes. She can’t resist those adorable puppy eyes. But at what cost?

“Today’s the day of Anne’s trial. I can’t have a sleaze like Liu around her all day. He might kidnap her or something to get rid of her vote. I gotta be there so I know Anne’s safe.”

Connie yawns and forces herself to sit up so she won’t fall back asleep. “You never mentioned you were her bodyguard?” 

Dorothy hands her a pile of clothes and says, “C’mon, you know how important this is to me. And it’s your aunt! Don’t you wanna save the school?”

“Not at five in the morning, no,” Connie says, but she starts pulling on a shirt anyway, not realizing she’s still wearing her pyjama.

“Thank you-thank you-thank you! I love you!” Dorothy kisses her quickly. “I’ll be waiting outside. Portia’s already there. Meet you in a few, okay?”

Connie mumbles something in confirmation, because words are still too much. Dorothy leaves the room and she changes clumsily into the clothes Dorothy had handed her, still bleary-eyed with sleep. She has no idea what Dorothy is planning to do, or why they need to leave so early. How is she planning on finding Anne? How are they even gonna get to the Ministry? 

Connie’s head is a swirling mess of questions as she shrugs into the shirt Dorothy picked for her without even looking. It is only when she pulls it over her head that she freezes and realises there is one question that is more important than any of the others…

Did Dorothy just say she loves her? 

\--

Dorothy is leaning against the wall when Connie walks out of the Slytherin Dungeon. Her eyes still look incredibly tired. Maybe Dorothy shouldn’t have woken her up so early.

“You ready to go?”

Connie musters up a smile. “I guess so.” 

Dorothy looks over to Portia, who is standing at a considerable distance, ready to leave as soon as possible. “Well, time to move to the second part of our plan, right?” 

Portia nods and immediately walks off. Dorothy starts to follow, only to be held back by Connie’s hand on her shoulder.

“Wait,” Connie says. “Before we leave, can you fill me on your plan?”

“Of course!” she’d been working on it all night. “But can we do that while walking? We’re on a tight schedule.”

Connie sighs. “Yeah, I guess.” 

They catch up to Portia and Dorothy tries to summarize her brilliant - if she does say so herself - plan. “So, Portia is going to rescue Ariana, while we will be attending Anne’s trial. It’s a longshot, but we can try and testify to what we saw. If we can weaken the evidence, we might be able to save her.” 

“Okay, but how are we getting to London?” 

“Well, we can’t Apparate on school grounds -”

“- And you and I don’t have our license yet.”

“Details, Connie. We’ll be breaking more than one rule today.”

“Dorothy had the brilliant idea to use the Thestrals to fly to London!” Portia fills Connie in excitedly.

“Thestrals will get you there, but there are faster ways,” a voice behind them interrupts the conversation.

They turn around to see Treville, looking sharper than ever. Next to her stands a proud Alex, whose freshly polished Head Girl badge is pinned promptly on her school uniform. 

“If you want to make it to Anne’s trial in time, that is.” 

“How did you..?”

“Students are never up this early, Miss Castlemore, unless they’re up to something mischievous,” Treville answers her question. “In fact, your intervenant behaviour will come to use for once. I need you to extend Anne’s trial as long as you possibly can. They scheduled it very early, and the vote will take the entire day. As long as there is no verdict spoken out loud, her vote will count.” 

“But what if we manage to get her clean? We can speak up, we have testimony!”

“Any testimony you have is worthless. Ever witnessed a wizard’s trial? They’re ruthless. If there’s one thing wizards are terrible at, it’s enforcing the law and abiding by it,” Treville says. “Trust me, the only way you can get Anne out of this is by sabotaging the trial.” 

Dumbstruck, it takes Dorothy all her might not to collapse on the floor right here, right now. Stand-up citizen Jeanne Treville is actually motivating her to break the rules. 

“Follow me,” Treville beckons them. 

They walk in a fast pace towards the Headmaster’s Tower. 

“Are you gonna beat up Rick’s ass again?” asks Dorothy, trying to contain her excitement at the possibility of another fight.

“He’s already at the department where the vote will happen,” Treville says as she opens the door to the office. “No, we are simply using the fireplace in this office to travel to London.” 

“I thought you couldn’t Floo from anywhere in Hogwarts?” Portia asks.

“Any other day of the year, that would be correct,” Treville says. “Today is an exception. They’ve opened up the Floo channel so both Rick, and Alex and I can travel safely to our destination. But if _some_ certain students happen to find out about this, and they were able to break into Liu’s office, _and_ use the fireplace to travel outside of Hogwarts, there’s no way I could stop them.” 

“So you’re giving us permission to go?” Dorothy asks for clarification. She doesn’t put it past Treville to give them detention anyway after they went to Anne’s trial. And if there’s one thing she’s sick of, it’s getting detention.

“I’m not giving anyone any permission. I’ve never told anyone about using this fireplace and I certainly did not see three students out of bed at five in the morning,” Treville says, as if suddenly unable to see the three of them. She turns and walks into the fireplace. “Alex, I’ll meet you in the Atrium.”

Treville takes some Floo powder and speaks the name of her destination. Emerald-green flames light up the room and Dorothy has to cover her eyes at the sudden bright light. 

Alex follows quickly by stepping into the fireplace and just before she drops the Floo powder in the flames, looks at the three and says: “You should lose the House ties, they give you away,” before she vanishes into the green flames.

“Wait, did Treville give us permission or not?” Portia asks confused.

“She did,” Connie confirms as she removes her Slytherin tie. “Now let’s move or otherwise we got up early for nothing.”

\--

Portia expected the Ministry of Magic to be big, but _this_ big? The Atrium seems to stretch out forever. The dark wood floor is perfectly polished and the ceiling is filled with golden symbols. In the centre of the Atrium is a fountain big enough for a troll to have a bath in, and on the far end Portia can just make out a long bank of elevators. She can’t believe this is only a single level of the entire ten story building. 

Despite the early hour, the place is packed. Wizards, each one wearing more colourful robes than the next, all heading towards the elevators. The passing conversations she hears are all spoken in different languages that sound nothing like English. Portia wonder how she’s gonna find Ariana in all this chaos. 

“Okay, the fireplace gave us a head start so we’re a couple hours early for the trial. We can look for Ariana first?” Dorothy suggests.

“But I have no idea where she is. It’s not like she’s contacted me since she left.” 

Dorothy frowns. “She could be anywhere. We have to search every level of the building.”

“That could take hours! You’re gonna miss the trial that way,” Portia objects.

“But we can - wait, where’s Connie?” Dorothy looks around, suddenly noticing her girlfriend is no longer standing next to them.

They look around and Portia points at the reception where Connie is seen talking to someone behind the desk. The conversation seems to have ended, because Connie turns around and heads back towards them.

“Ariana’s in the Department of Mysteries,” 

“Wait, they told you _that_ easily?” Dorothy asks amazed.

“No. They said it was confidential, which means they _do_ know about Ariana being here but can’t say _where._ That means she’s an Unspeakable and thus works in the Department of Mysteries.”

Portia and Dorothy quickly agree that it’s a way more efficient way to find Ariana than searching every level. Without any objections, they head down to the ninth floor. Portia’s first impulse upon seeing it is to take the lift straight back to the Atrium. In contrast to the packed Atrium, this floor is completely deserted. The only break in the smooth black-tiled walls was a black door at the end of the hall. 

“Cozy,” Dorothy remarks.

“I heard my family talking in hushed voices once about what’s behind that door,” Connie says. “Let’s just say I’m not thrilled about exploring behind it.”

“There’s no other way,” Portia says. Not if they want to find Ariana. 

She’s the first one brave enough to step out of the elevator. Instinctively she takes her wand out of her robes, as if the hallway itself might attack her. 

Behind the door is a circular room that’s bathed in cold, blue light. There’s nothing in this room either except for a bunch of identical doors and her own reflection in what seems to be a very still pool of water that covers the floor. When she takes a cautious step she realizes the floor must be marble, because it isn’t wet. Something about the room is mesmerizing. Dorothy and Connie walk in behind Portia and they stand entranced until the door slams shut and startles them out of their state.

“Wait, I heard that this room -” 

The walls starts moving very fast, making it impossible to remember which door they came in from. It comes to a slow halt, and twelve handleless doors seem to stare them down. 

“- rotates,” Connie finishes her sentence, annoyed. 

“I guess we better mark them when we go into the wrong one,” Dorothy says. 

They try a bunch of rooms, only taking a peek, mark the door if wrong, and repeat. There’s a room with a big tank, and they quickly move on to the next door when it appears to have brains swimming in it. Another room is filled with crystal balls, which Connie explains are prophecies. Then there was a beautiful room that’s basically a planetarium and another room with loads of clocks and other time-related objects.

After eight unsuccessful doors, Portia can feel her desperation starting to grow. Ariana _has_ to be here, right? She opens one of the few unmarked doors left and her heart swells up when she sees Ariana in the middle of a big room, asleep on her desk. She must’ve passed out while working deep into the night.

“I’ll call you in when we’re done talking, okay?” Portia turns to Dorothy and Connie. “I need to talk to her alone first.” 

She closes the door on them before she can hear any objections. Hesitantly she stays by the door, hoping Ariana might wake up naturally. But it’s not like she woke up when Ariana left her...

She wants answers, she _needs_ them. Her body shivers as she walks towards the desk. 

“Ria?” she tries.

Nothing. 

She nudges her, but Ariana seems deep asleep. Of course, she forgot for a hot second that Ariana could sleep through a nuclear bombing if she wants to. 

A bit irritated, Portia takes one of the books that are lying on the desk and drops it from above her head. There’s a loud slam and Ariana jumps up to her feet. Before even knowing who stands before her she draws her wand, ready to strike. She blinks and suddenly her sleepy brain seems to have caught up and her face falters. 

“P-Portia!” she stammers, and drops her wand in shock. 

They look at each other, but neither seems able to know what would be an appropriate reaction. All sorts of emotions that are on opposite sides of the spectrum race through Portia’s body. Parts in her wants to hug Ariana as tightly as she can, comfort her, tell her everything will be alright. Another part wants to burst into tears and tell her how much she missed her. But to her surprise neither of those emotions win. It’s her anger, disbelief, and disappointment that are taking control of the storm within her. 

“You've got a lot of nerve leaving me like that, Ariana!”

She slowly nods. “How screwed am I?”

“Oh, plenty! I said we should communicate more and you don't. You left without even leaving a note! How should I have known you hadn't fled? O-Or that you died somewhere in an abandoned alley? You have no idea how worried I was!”

“I know.”

“No, you don't. You shut me out Ariana. Again! I know why you did it but that doesn't mean I have to like it.”

“Frankly, I don't like it either,” she says. “But it is what it is.”

"How can you say that? Like you got no choice?”

Ariana scoffs. "Look around, babe! Does it seem like I have a choice?"

"You _always_ have a choice. You just gotta chose the right side."

"I'm getting blackmailed. I'm forced to work here! Don't you get that?” her voice raises. “How would you like it, when you're sitting in your own house, minding your own goddamn business when suddenly the Ministry alongside Ricky Dick just poof into your living room. Like it’s the most _normal_ thing in the world. As if this is their weekly wednesday activity inbetween golfing and drinking tea. And then - Then they start threatening you. They hold up a file and tell you you either work along or you go to Azkaban! Now I -"

"Ariana, shut up!" 

"What the hell? No! I'm not shutting up! I want you to understand I didn't chose this!"

"No, shut up because you're gonna break your Vow, you idiot!"

Portia leaps towards her and throws her arms around Ariana, her anger disappears.

"If you drop dead, I - you…,” she grips Ariana tighter. “I wouldn’t know what to do. So _please_ shut up.”

"Okay,” Ariana says, wrapping her arms around Portia. “I'll... shut up."

Ariana’s warmth melted away all the anger she had felt just a few moments ago. There’s nothing she missed more in the world then Ariana’s arms around her. She tries to soak it all in and if Portia gripped her any tighter she’s afraid she’d cut off Ariana’s breath. If only they could stay like this a little longer. But Portia notices Ariana’s hesitation as she slightly loosens her grip on Portia. Their conversation isn’t over just yet. 

"... Portia?"

"Hm?"

Ariana breaks loose from the hug, to look Portia in the eyes. "Why do you keep giving second chances? Hell, not even second chances. I must be on my millionth chance by now."

She looks puzzled. "I don't - what are you after, Ria?"

"I'm just saying, you deserve so much better. You should be with someone who - who is equally enthusiastic about the world as you are," Ariana says. "And I'm not that person."

Portia's heart sinks. Ariana doesn't love her anymore.

"Y-You're saying you wanna..." Portia's swallows, her voice sounding small "... break up?"

"I mean we're _such_ different people. And you shouldn't have to keep sacrificing yourself just to be with someone mediocre like me."

"That's not what I asked." Her eyes are filled with tears. "Do you want that? Do _you_ wanna break up?"

"No, of course not, but -"

"Then why would you say such a thing, Ariana?"

"Because even though I keep saying I’m awesome, I'm actually a terrible girlfriend! And you deserve the best in this world."

"Why does everybody keep saying that?” she can feel her frustration rising. “Why does everybody treat me like I'm some sort of perfect angel who can only touch things that are pure and good?" 

“I never-”

"Ariana, I _love_ you! You know that, right? You're a mess, _just_ like me. People look at me, and see this fairy princess who could never do anything wrong in her life. But they're wrong! I make mistakes. I mess up. I have said and done awful things. They may not all compare to yours but that doesn’t make them right!”

“But Portia, listen-”

“Do you know why I love you?”

Ariana’s completely thrown off-guard by that question she falls silent. 

“I love that you're not scared to show your flaws, that you are not afraid to show the world who you are or want to be. You don’t give a damn if someone doesn’t like you, because you’re not such a pushover like I am,” she pauses for a second. “But the very few people who have seen you with your walls down, will see a girl who got hurt. Who always had to stand alone. A girl with such self-loathing, she uses sarcasm to push people away.”

“Porche,” Ariana blinks away tears. “Please stop.”

Portia takes her hands. “But they also see a girl who is incredibly smart, and so passionate about technology and magic she outshines even most adults. A girl who might be picky about the things she loves, but would give up anything to protect it.”

She gazes into Ariana’s eyes, making sure these last few words really hit her. “In short, I don't love you _despite_ your flaws. I love you, Ariana. Full stop.”

"See, you say that, but in the meantime you're sacrificing yourself, _again!”_ Ariana objects.

"You came to Hogwarts _just_ for me, right?"

"Yeah-"

"Even though you could've gotten your N.E.W.T.s without attending this year, correct?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then _who,_ Ariana Henries, is the one sacrificing themselves?"

Ariana stammers. 

Portia smiles softly and pulls Ariana closer, “See? It seems that we both do stupid things for each other.”

“Maybe we should stop that. It seems kinda silly,” Ariana tugs a strain of Portia’s hair behind her ear.

“I guess that’s called being in love.”

“Gross,” Ariana smiles as she leans in to kiss her.

\--

The Atrium is more impressive than Alex could have imagined. But there’s no time to look around, because the hall is packed and if she loses sight of Treville, she is sure she wouldn’t find her way back.

They walk towards the elevators, which are crammed with wizards. She guesses they’re all going to the Department of International Magical Cooperation where the vote will be held. 

“That one still has space,” Treville says and points to an otherwise empty elevator if you don’t count the terrifying looking centaur standing in the middle of it. 

“Uhm, Jeanne?” Alex hesitates, centaurs are well-known to not be particularly fond of wizards so sharing a small space doesn’t seem like a brilliant idea.

But Treville has already walked up to the centaur, and to Alex’s surprise, even greets it by name.

“Hello Nicholas, may we join you?” 

The centaur stares at Treville for a moment and then gives a stern nod. 

“Thank you, all the other ones are very crowded. Come in, Alex!” Treville gestures when Alex doesn’t make a movement. 

Swallowing her fear, Alex steps into the elevator and ends up on the other side of the centaur, completely losing Treville out of her view. 

The door closes and the lift makes a swift jolt and Alex has to grip the side not to fall over.

“I see you brought a foal with you as well,” Nicholas remarks, addressing only Treville.

“Alex is one of our top students and given this is her last year, rare opportunities like these might increase her chance of potential jobs.”

Suddenly his intense dark eyes are looking into Alex’s. “So you’re thinking of joining the forces of the law?”

His question almost sounds like a demand.

“M-Maybe..?”

He turns his attention away again and looks straight ahead. “I hope you don’t waste your breath on the Department of Magical Creatures, it’ll be a matter of time before it shuts down. The sooner the better. It’s always been the way of wizards, holding _creatures_ like me under their thumb.”

“That’s... terrible,” Alex mumbles, realizing she had never really thought about this. 

“It is indeed.”

An awkward silence pools between them until a voice announces: _“Level Five, Department of International Magical Cooperation, incorporating the International Magical Trading Standards Body, the International Magical Office of Law and the International Confederation of Wizards, British Seats."_

The doors slide open.

“Well, I’ll see you in the conference room, Miss Treville,” the centaur says and heads off.

“Wait, he has a vote?” Alex whispers when Nicholas is out of earshot. 

“Yes, and he will make a strong case, I’m sure.”

They walk across a long hall, with offices connected to it. A few doors are open, but unlike the crowded hall, it’s too early for someone to be working yet. The mass of people walk towards a big door at the end of the hall. 

“How do you even know him?” Alex asks, and tries to put the question why Nicholas seems to have some level of respect for Treville to the back of her head.

“He’s the leader of the herd that lives in the Forbidden Forest,” Treville says, and lets her eyes rest on Alex. “I can tell you’re well aware of centaurs’ pride. But as long as you respect them and do not treat them as lesser than wizards you cannot do much wrong.” 

But can you do something right by them? Alex wants to ask, but they’ve arrived at the doors where there is a quick screening process of her wand Treville had told her about beforehand. 

They walk into the conference room, which seems a lot bigger than it’s supposed to be. It almost seems like a small stadium, with seats on tribunes. At the very back of the rows there are all kinds of reporters waiting to scribble down the most important bullet points. In the middle of the room a small stage is set. Alex has read in some brochure that this room is normally used by the Confederation of Wizards. But given the volume of today’s international meeting, Alex figures some enchantments have been made to make it look bigger and more beautiful than it normally does. 

As they sit down at their assigned seats, Alex lets her eyes wander through the room. Hundreds of the most important wizards of the world are gathered here today, in this room. And _she,_ of all people, is allowed to witness this. Although she notices that there aren’t any other magical creatures except for the centaur Nicholas, who is the only one who stands next to the stage. 

The chatter dies down and Rick Liu takes the stage. There’s a round of loud applause that only Treville, Nicholas and herself do not partake in, and Alex is taken aback by the crowd’s enthusiasm for Rick. He’s less popular as a teacher at Hogwarts than he apparently is as a politician.

“Thank you all for your generous welcome, and may I welcome _you_ to this historic day,” Rick Liu says with a charming smile. “Some of you have travelled from afar to participate in this vote. An important one at that. As you may know, back in 1692 the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was passed. Today we will revisit this statute, and vote on whether to revoke it or not.” 

Rick Liu deliberately lets a moment of silence hang over the audience, this time nobody claps.

“First of all,” he continues. “I will read the statements of voters who could not make it here today. Then, it will be time for the debate, and we will conclude the day by voting.” 

He takes a handful of notes from his jacket and clears his throat. “From the leader of the mermaid people, I will read as follows.”

Rick rattles off a bunch of statements. Alex notes that they are mostly from magical creatures who did not have any way to come here. Dementors who are guarding Azkaban, Elves who are proudly working, and mermaids who can’t spend an entire day outside the water to go to a vote. It also becomes clear to her why _Rick_ is on stage and not someone more important. The messages are all written in different languages that pretty much no wizard speak except Rick. 

“And finally, from the Gurg of the Giants, I _had_ a statement, but I just received a message this morning that this particular Gurg has been killed off by one of its own kind. Ministers are currently trying to receive a statement from the new Gurg,” Rick concludes his list. “And now we will start the debate-”

A loud cough comes from the centaur. Even the soft whispers in the room die out and all eyes are staring at him. 

“Liu, knowing you’d be twisting my words and given I’m the only magical creature in this room, I’d like to give my statement as well.”

“But of course, Nicholas. Let’s view this as the opening statement of the debate. After your statement we may want to go for a quick break?” Rick suggests in an all-too friendly tone, completely ignoring the backstab about twisting his words.

“Given wizards’ short attention span I think that would be an excellent idea,” Nicholas says as he slowly walks up to the stage. 

“I am the representative of the centaurs. Not because this is an honour for me, but because centaurs do not care about the rules of mere wizards.”

Murmurs are heard all across the room. 

“I think my fellow centaurs are wrong. I think this particular opportunity might give centaurs the freedom we have already given to ourselves,” he continues. “You see, as centaurs we do not acknowledge your rules, yet we are forced to abide by them. We live in our herds, but live in forests _you_ assigned to us. We are categorized in your systems as ‘magical creatures’, but those words mean nothing to us. As you can see, we do not agree a lot with each other.” 

A few wizards snort, but Nicholas’ ice cold gaze immediately makes them stop. 

“Now let me remind you _why_ the issue of the revocation of the Statute is on the table. Not because of the oppression of magical creatures, but because you cannot control the situation. For the first time since 1692, the subcategory of humans you call Muggles, are forming a threat.” Nicholas lets his gaze wander through the room, before he adds. “To _you.”_

“You might be wondering why I’ve shown up today, and here is my answer. If you wizards cannot handle this new development, then _all_ of us are in danger. You have categorized yourself above other magical creatures, by presuming to assign forests to us. Forests where Muggles cannot find us. To protect us, you say. Yet you do not have this new situation under control. Now, what if Muggles discover our herds? What if they start documenting us, say, by snapping pictures? If that happens, we’ve already lost the war. But, if we revoke this law, _we_ can decide the pace at which to reveal our shared worlds. And when the wizarding world is revealed, it means centaurs will no longer have to hide. By voting for revocation, wizards will not only regain control, but centaurs will no longer be impeded by your laws. By voting for revocation, it will be _both_ our independence!”

The entire hall bursts into applause and Alex realizes she has been holding her breath for quite some time. Treville was right, he made quite the case. If _this_ is the opening statement, whoever is pro-Statute has now certainly a lot to worry about. 

\--

Portia stays a considerable time behind the door, so long that Connie starts to wonder if they haven’t fallen asleep back there. Or maybe time just goes slowly when it’s barely morning and you have to stare at a room with twelve doors. 

When Portia does finally call them inside, it appears that Ariana is pretty much all caught up.

“So we’re gonna sabotage Anne’s trial. You got a plan?” Ariana claps her hands excitedly.

“Well, we had, but Treville said testimony was useless,” Dorothy explains. “She said the only way to help Anne is to have them reschedule her trial.”

“Well good thing I’m here to save your asses,” Ariana says with a grin. “Remember all the blackouts on Hogwarts?”

“The ones caused by electricity? Hard to forget,” Connie says, remembering the afternoon Dorothy sprinted in the study hall and moments after the lights went out.

“We’re going to do something similar today. Only this time, we’re gonna do on a larger scale, and we’re gonna do it on purpose.”

Connie looks around the room. There’s nothing but a few computers that look very dated. “This equipment can’t possibly be enough.”

“Oh you’re totally right. But there are a _ton_ of confiscated electronics lying around somewhere in Law Enforcement on Level Two.”

“You’re gonna steal from _Aurors?”_ Connie says, raising an eyebrow. “That doesn’t seem like an idiotic plan at all.” 

“It’s not _stealing._ Technically... It’s more like borrowing stuff they’ve dumped in a room somewhere that they don’t care about to begin with,” Ariana says. 

“Okay so what are we waiting for then?” Dorothy asks, already heading for the door. 

“Wow, hold on to your hero-complex, Castlemore. The trial starts in half an hour, so you two,” she points at Connie and Dorothy. “Need to head over there. We need someone in there who knows what’s happening. Porche and I will fix the rest from outside the courtroom.” 

“And you’re sure this will work?” Connie asks skeptical. “Aren’t you working to _fix_ this glitch?”

“Yeah, I am. That’s why I’m certain everything will go berserk.”

Connie looks over to Dorothy, who seems to be convinced by Ariana’s plan. 

“It’s the best thing we’ve got. Let’s go for it!”

They head back towards the hall and climb down the stairs to reach the tenth floor. Suddenly the Department of Mysteries doesn’t look half so bad compared to the dungeon-like aesthetics this floor has, with its torches and rough stone walls.

“Have they never heard of renovations?” Connie whispers to Dorothy. 

She sniggers. “Right? It’s like being thrown back in time to the middle ages.”

One wooden door is completely swung open, and it’s not much of a stretch to figure out Anne’s trial will be held there. The courtroom is about half filled so far. Many seem to be ordinary wizards, probably parents concerned about their children's safety. The rest are reporters, looking annoyed that they aren’t covering the top story of the day: the international vote. 

They take a seat somewhere in the back so as to not draw too much attention. Trial won’t start for another ten minutes, but some of the court members are already getting on their seats. A few Aurors are standing in the circle, monitoring the defense spells that are up to protect both Anne and the audience.

“Lots of security for just a simple trial,” Dorothy remarks. 

“Being Head of Hogwarts is one of the most important jobs in Britain. I bet it’s just safety precautions,” Connie says.

“Still,” Dorothy says, watching the court members taking their seat. “Does there have to be so many of them?”

“The more the better, right? Rick cannot possibly bribe them all.”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

Connie observes how Dorothy is staring intently toward the middle of the courtroom, at the chair where Anne will be sitting soon enough. She knows how important this moment is to Dorothy, but all she can look at is her. How her hair is messily wrapped up in a bun with strands are jumping out of it. How her hands are fidgeting with both nervousness and excitement, and how her brown eyes that seem to burn with more passion than Connie has felt in her entire life. 

And the only thing in her head, the thing that keeps playing through it over and over, is this morning: when Dorothy said she loved her. How is it that Dorothy can say it so easily, make it seem so natural, while Connie has to force it? She should’ve grabbed Dee’s hand, before she could leave the dorm, and told her she loves her, too. They’ve been dating for a while now. She should be able to say the words out loud, right? 

“Dee...?” Connie says, a bit insecure, but when Dorothy looks at her she swallows her words. “What do you think about the vote?”

“I mean it’s kinda exciting, don’t you think?” she says, none the wiser to Connie’s original intent. “I couldn’t help it, my first thought went to my friends - the Inseparables, I mean. I wonder how they’d react. I wouldn’t have to hide my life anymore. I could finally be honest with them.”

“That would be amazing,” Connie smiles absent-mindedly, beating herself up inside her own head. Coward! She’s such a coward. 

“Hey,” Dorothy nudges Connie. “I’m sorry. I know that stupid Statute has hurt you far worse.” 

“Oh,” she hadn’t even thought about Monty. “Right, yeah.” 

The doors open and two Aurors escort a woman in by her arms. It takes a moment for Connie to recognize her aunt. Her hair is unkempt, but then again her whole appearance looks shabby. Her clothes are dirty, like she’s been lying on the floor for a week. She looks like she hasn’t had a single decent meal since she was detained. With her hands bound behind her back, she walks towards the seat, gazing dully in front of her. 

“Oh my god,” Dorothy says angrily under her breath. 

Just in time, Connie grabs Dorothy by the arm before she can stand up and cause a scene.

Dorothy looks at her, and Connie can see the rage in her eyes ebb away. 

“Habit,” she mumbles.

“It’s okay. I get it,” Connie whispers, and laces their fingers together. She doesn’t like seeing Anne like this any more than Dorothy does. 

“All rise for the Chief Warlock,” a voice announces through the courtroom. 

The entire room stands up, and Connie’s eyes grow wide when the Minister himself walks to the top seat of the court. Why is he here and not at the international vote?

“You may be seated,” the Minister dismisses them. Then he turns his focus solely on Anne. “Miss Bonacieux, you are standing here on trial in front of the Wizengamot today for accusations of endangering students by allowing dangerous creatures to trespass upon the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Witnesses report that you may have intentionally brought these creatures onto the campus yourself. Today’s trial will review the evidence and vote upon your removal as Headmistress of Hogwarts. Do you wish to open with your first statement?”

“My first statement?” Anne snorts and stands up from her seat. 

There’s an audible gasp in the audience, the aurors raise their wands toward Anne, ready to strike, and reporters are scribbling everything down fanatically. 

“Return to your seat, Miss Bonacieux,” the Minister commands her.

“I’m stretching,” Anne says, calmly. “There’s no rule against that, is there, Minister?”

She slowly walks alongside the edge of circle, right up against where the stands are protected by a shield spell. There’s a wicked smile on her face, but her eyes seem tired, defeated even. It’s a face Connie has only seen once before. When Anne lost all hope, when she lost her son.

Everybody’s holding their breath. Even the Minister seems to be thrown off by this. 

When Anne spots Connie in the audience, she comes to a halt. Her eyes stare her down, but they no longer look lost. It’s like Connie just gave her a weapon to fight back with. 

“My first statement,” Anne speaks up, not losing eye contact. “The British Ministry of Magic is a corrupt monster that hurts the innocent.”

\--

“Next up we will have Anne Bonacieux, Headmistress of Hogwarts, contributing to the debate,” Rick announces.

Whispers fill the room and Alex can feel her nervousness rise. This is it. This is the moment when all eyes are on them. 

Treville stands up and puts her wand against her neck. _“Sonorus.”_

“Thank you, Mister Liu,” she says, her voice echoing the room. “Miss Bonacieux is pre-occupied in court and therefore has sent me, Jeanne Treville, as her representative for this vote.” 

A few wizards scoff, but Treville ignores them gracefully.

“For many years, Muggle technology has been advancing exponentially in such leaps that we can no longer ignore it. Suddenly, our world has a great chance of being discovered at any moment. This will put us in more danger than we have been in for centuries. These facts are all excellent points, however, these reasons have all one motive in common.” Treville deliberately drops a silence. “They’re all rooted in fear. Fear of exposure, fear of falling behind. But fear is incapable of rational reasoning, and therefore is not an emotion on which we should base an international decision. Especially one that will change our entire world for good.”

A gasp slips from Alex throat, against her better judgement. Why is Treville arguing pro-Statute? Treville knowns she is muggleborn, right? Alex has always noticed a strong favor amongst purebloods for the secrecy of the world. Either because of a superiority-complex or because they never had to interact with Muggles before and do not truly understand the difficulties of keeping this secret. Are these Anne’s words, or are they Treville’s? Alex never expected either of them to be so conservative on these issues.

With disbelief, she listens to the rest of the statement.

“At first sight, the logical step seems to be to revoke the Statute, and in due time, chances are the Statute will be revoked. But that’s neither here nor there. Ladies, gentlemen, people beyond the binary, ask yourself _what_ will happen when the vote favours the revocation at _this_ moment. You may have noticed that so far, there have been only simple speculations of future events. There is no consistent plan. No pragmatic steps to take to achieve our goal.

“For example, how do we make sure we reveal ourselves without scaring the Muggles? Because if you may remember, _that’s_ why we placed this Statute in order in the first place. Wizards across the world were burned, captured and beaten to death, because Muggles used fear against the unknown. How can we be sure they will not do something similar this time around? How can we guarantee safety of both worlds when the Ministry of Magic does not share the steps they intend to take towards our so-called ‘brighter future’? As long as there is no concrete plan for how we should reveal ourselves to the Muggle world, this vote should not be up for debate at all.”

Treville breathes out these last words with passion. She lowers her wand and sits back in her seat. A silence hangs over the room. There’s no applause, but Alex can feel a certain sense of awe. 

“Thank you for your contribution Miss -” Rick wants to conclude the statement, but Nicholas interrupts him.

“If I understand correctly you propose we wait, despite the potential danger of Muggles discovering the wizardry world first?”

Treville gets up. “That is correct, however, if the Ministry of Magic had proposed a proper plan, I might have considered otherwise.” 

“You forget that you put millions of lives in danger. You cannot deny that the wizards of this world do not have the situation under control,” Nicholas counters.

“No, I cannot. But if the Ministry cannot control this situation, what makes you think they can handle one that they’re completely unfamiliar with?” 

“Please! I urge you to stop debating,” Rick enhanced voice shouts above them. “You have made your visions clear. Now it’s time for another member to share their statement.” 

Reluctantly they both back off, while another wizard rises to express their opinion.

Alex looks over to Treville, who has been able to collect her cool.

“Do you really believe we’re better off hiding?” Alex whispers to her. 

“It’s not about my opinion, it’s about Anne’s,” Treville says. “I’m merely representing her opinions today, not mine.”

“But why doesn’t it matter? You still have opinions right? You shouldn’t just follow Anne’s orders blindly. I mean, it’s a big topic. What about the Muggle parents who have to keep lying to protect their child? What about-” 

“I know how tempting this revocation seems, Alex. but it’s not the right time. The Minister and his loyal minions like Rick Liu just rush into a solution because they can’t handle the real situation. We first have to deal with that before we can look further.” 

Their attention draws back to the stage, where Rick calls everyone’s attention.

“Thank you all for who have shared their statements on this issue. Now let’s turn to the most important part of the day,” he waves his wand and a table with a voting box on it appears. 

“All eligible voters just received a marble in their pocket,” he takes one out of his own pocket to show a small transparent marble. “The matter we are voting on today is: should the International Statute Of Wizarding Secrecy be revoked?”

“The marble will be your vote. White means you agree with the statement, black means you’re against. Simply walk up to the box, and before dropping the ball, either think ‘white’ or ‘black’. The ball will correspond to the colour you thought of and you have casted your vote. This method guarantees the anonymity of the voters,” Rick explains. “Any other colours will not be accepted and be considered a blank vote. Only a majority of fifty percent or above will count.”

Some take this as a sign as the start of the vote and stand up to get to the box first.

“I guess this is it,” Treville says with a wry smile. “You haven’t heard anything from the trial yet either, right?” 

Alex hears a nervous crack in Treville’s voice, which takes her by surprise.

“Even if they lose the trial, you made a strong statement, Jeanne. I wouldn’t be surprised if you changed a lot of minds. Anne would be proud, I’m sure,” Alex tries to cheer her up. 

“Please form a _line_ to cast your votes!” Rick begs the crowd, who are all scattered across the room, cheating one another to get in front first.

“Well. That is very… kind of you, Alex,” Treville muffles, not entirely sure what to do with this compliment. “I need to go vote now.”

Abruptly, Treville stands up and joins the queue. 

Alex remains in her seat, feeling the pit in her stomach grow. She has always felt a strong admiration for both Anne and Jeanne. But for the first time, she wonders if they’re wrong. 

\-- 

“Do you wish to elaborate on that first _bold_ statement?” the Minister asks with his jaw clenched.

Anne turns her attention back to the court. “Should I? Because I know I’m innocent, but I also know that this court is heavily biased against me. Isn’t it funny, Minister, that the one who passes the laws, also has the power to execute them?” 

“We’re not here today to discuss politics, Miss Bonacieux.”

“Oh? Aren’t we?” Dorothy detects a smile on Anne’s face. “Funny, because, I thought the reason I’m here today is because you want my vote. To fill in my position as Head of Hogwarts with one of your puppets.”

The Minister stomps with his gavel. “That’s enough! Turn back to your seat immediately and start taking this court seriously.”

Clearly amused with herself and the rise she got out of the minister, Anne gets back to her seat.

“Your aunt is _so cool,”_ Dorothy whispers to Connie. “I mean, I know she was cool before, because she’s Anne and she’s awesome, but this is like next level badassery.” 

“Let’s visit the evidence, shall we?” the minister’s voice echoes through the room.

“Sure. If you want to tell me that biased intel from one of your own close business partners is considered evidence, then we should visit that.”

“One more of these tantrums and I’m forced to-”

“I know I did not bring those creatures on campus, nor am I to blame for them getting access to it. Hogwarts has always been under tremendous protection, warded by many spells keeping dark forces away and the students safe. Do you not believe my students are my number one priority?” Anne’s voice wavers. The accusations of the Board of Governors and the _Daily Prophet_ that Anne is possibly a threat to the students have definitely impacted her.

“People are not to blame for being suspicious of your questionable demeanor.”

 _“Questionable demeanor?_ That’s rich, considering the only other person who could have been able to lower certain defense shields is the Deputy whenever the Head is not currently on campus. Which in the case of Hogwarts would be Rick Liu. The same man who is now currently leading the international vote in this same building,” Anne spits out. “Why is it that he is not in this same room being questioned as I am? He should be as much a suspect as I am.”

“We’re not here discussing Rick Liu,” the minister tries to interrupt her, but Anne seems to be on a roll.

“Of course we aren’t. Because the intel you got; the so-called ‘evidence’ you have, came from Rick Liu himself. He cannot be on trial, given he’s the reason I sit here.”

The bickering between the two of them continues and Dorothy looks anxiously to the closed door that leads back to the hallways. She only hopes that Ariana and Portia will be able to set everything up in time. 

“If you do not believe my claims, I dare you to call one of my colleagues on the stand. I’m sure they will testify my excellent record, both as a Head of Hogwarts as well as a regular wizard in our community.”

“Character witnesses are not a reliable source of evidence. They tell nothing about the actions of a person.”

“Well, I’m glad that we based our entire school system on characteristics then,” Anne snaps back.

Something strikes Dorothy as odd. She looks over to Connie and whispers. “She’s talking in circles, right?”

“Yeah, I think she’s stretching for time. Hoping the trial will take long enough so her vote still counts.”

“Tell me, Minister, do you not believe in the founders of our only school in Britain? I for one firmly believe in the ideals of Helga Hufflepuff. As you may know I remain a proud Hufflepuff till this day, and I intended to house, teach, and make sure Hogwarts feels like their home where they can grow into the admirable adults I know they will become,” Anne says. “A Head of Hogwarts is responsible for an entire generation of new wizards. If you think I don’t understand that responsibility then I don’t think you have a good grasp of my values. So be careful about your judgement. You may not like me, but if someone else who is unqualified takes over my position, you might fuck over an entire generation.” 

All the journalists let their quills flow over the paper. These are the kind of speeches that could make front pages. 

“She’s totally killing it,” Dorothy whispers. 

“I don’t think she can keep this up for long though. Ariana and Portia better hurry.” 

“Again, Miss Bonacieux, we are not here to discuss the founders of Hogwarts or their values. We are gathered here because evidence shows you have let incredibly dangerous magical creatures on campus.”

“And once again, I’m telling you this is hoax with falsified evidence to kick me out of my position.”

“Minister, if I may,” a woman of the court intervenes the conversation. “We should get back to the core of this trial.”

“Uh oh, this is not good,” Dorothy says under her breath, her eyes locked onto the court. Her hand nervously searches for Connie’s.

“Miss Bonacieux, is it true that mystical creatures like dementors and giants have been able to enter the Hogwarts campus?”

“Well, I guess if you put it that way, then yes.”

“And were or were you not aware of these events happening at the time. Knowing you could’ve reached out to the Ministry at any time to strengthen the defense around Hogwarts.”

“Now you’re putting words in my mouth, minister.”

“All right, were or were you not aware of these events happening at the time?”

“As soon as one of my colleagues were aware of these events, then yes, I was immediately informed.”

A small smile appears on the woman’s face. “That’s all, thank you, Miss Bonacieux.”

“Ariana, for fuck’s sake what’s taking so long?” Dorothy whispers nervously, looking at the door. 

“Very well, I think that has put things into perspective,” the Minister of Magic says triumphantly. “If the suspect has no further evidence-”

“Oh I have plenty of evidence! First of all-”

The lights flicker before Anne can finish her sentence, and then the room completely darkens. Unrest sweeps over the room. This is it! Dorothy thinks excitedly. Now they can only hope their plan works.

“What’s going on?!” the minister demands to nobody in particular.

An Auror tries to lighten the room again with a _lumos maxima_ spell, but instead sets his own wand on fire. 

“Chief Warlock, the defense spells are down!” another Auror bellows. 

“Take the suspect back to her cell!” the Minister yells over the chaos. “Someone fix this!”

“Don’t use _lumos!”_ the Auror with the flaming wand yells. “I can’t put it out!” 

“Come here you idiot!” another Auror says, annoyed, but when they attempt a counter-spell, the wand refuses to work.

In the light of the ignited wand, Dorothy can just make out Anne being escorted through the backdoor. 

“Please remain calm!” the Minister says to the audience, trying to keep the situation under control. Then he turns to his Aurors and shouts: “Someone put those protection spells back up, for Merlin’s sake!” 

All Aurors cast their spells, however the flashes of light that come from their wands start bouncing through the room, causing little explosions all over the place. 

One corner of the room on fire, an aisle is full of slime, spiders are falling from the ceiling, and one woman has been turned into a flamingo. Everyone in the room starts screaming and running for the nearest exit door. 

“This trial is hereby adjourned until further notice,” the Minister shouts, barely audible above the chaos, and hits the gavel on the wooden desk. 

“Let’s go!” Dorothy says to Connie excitedly, and drags her by the arm. They press their way through the panicked crowd, and enter the hallways. Dorothy has to try and contain her laughter. The entire floor is scattered with hundreds of mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and all sorts of electronic devices. The screens are flashing and phones are ringing. 

Dorothy looks over at Connie. “How did they..?”

“No idea,” Connie says, looking around in disbelief. 

Someone grabs her by the shoulder and proclaims dramatically, “What an _inconvenient_ event!”

She turns to see Ariana giving them a knowing grin. “Guess who saved the day once again?” 

“You gotta tell us how you did it!” Dorothy says.

“Alright, but not here,” Ariana says and guides them upstairs, back to her lab.

“I believe you’re familiar with my partner in crime, Portia Vallon,” Ariana gestures proudly. “Without her excellent stunning spells several guards would have interrupted our plans.” 

Portia’s face flushes. “I can’t take all the credit. You were the one who got all the devices to work at once.” 

“Details, details,” Ariana waves her off while walking toward a cupboard. “More importantly, we gotta celebrate!” 

She holds out four flasks of butterbeer. “Care for a drink before you guys leave?”

“ _You?_ You mean _we,_ right?” Portia asks.

“Babe you know I can’t leave just yet I still got work to do,” Ariana says apologetic. “I’m making progress but it will take another month or two before I can go back.”

Portia nods understanding. “Okay, well in that case we should make the best out of this moment.”

That’s one thing they can all agree upon. Ariana skilfully shoves the glasses across the table to everyone without spilling a drop of liquid. 

“I feel like we should give a toast,” Connie jokes.

Portia, completely missing Connie’s sarcasm, stands up and holds out her glass and cries enthusiastically, “All for one!” 

Dorothy looks over at Ariana and Connie, who don’t seem to know what it means either.

“It’s from this book? Anyone? C’mon! _The Three Musketeers_?” 

“But... There are four of us?” Connie asks confused. 

“Okay, new toast,” Dorothy says and holds out her glass. “To Anne who may or may not get reinstated at Hogwarts but whose vote definitely counts to bring us a new and open wizarding world!” 

“Oh my god, Castlemore, you still suck at naming things,” Ariana laughs. 

“How about ‘to a new open wizarding world’?” Connie suggest.

“I’d toast to that,” Ariana says and clink their glasses. 

Ariana and Portia enthusiastically dive into their story of how they got past the Aurors, but Dorothy only listens half to it. She can’t believe their plan worked. It won’t be long before the votes are counted and a new era will begin. And they made sure of that. Anne has always been so progressive. Treville must’ve rattled off an amazing speech by now, making everyone realize how great a world it would be without any secrecy.

They did it. They saved Anne! They actually got what they wanted. 

\--

“I don’t get it,” Alex says, mauling over what had just happened at the vote. They’d arrived back at Hogwarts and Treville had invited her for a review of events in her office. She didn’t really feel up to it, but Treville insisted.

“I understand,” Treville says, waving her wand. Two cups fly out of the cupboard and settle on the desk. A delicate teapot floats towards the cups and hot steaming water pours out of it.

Alex stares at the cup before snapping her attention to Treville, “Do you?”

It comes out more aggressively than expected.

“You’re disappointed that the Statute of Secrecy stayed, aren’t you?”

“I’m disappointed that the two women I looked up to the most in my entire school career have made a decision based upon personal opinion and didn’t look at the greater cause.” 

Treville calmly takes her teacup and sits back in her chair. “You think we voted for our personal gain?”

“What else?” Alex says, seething with anger. “You won by five votes. _Five!_ You didn’t even need Anne’s vote to stop the revocation. You used Dorothy and her friends to sabotage Anne’s trial for naught!”

“Actually, the odds were tremendously against us. We had hoped that Anne’s speech would help, and it did.”

“But _why?!_ Why vote against the revocation? Don’t you see how difficult it is to keep the wizarding world hidden? How unhappy it makes so many people? Don’t you ever think about all the Muggle parents? About how lonely people get? And _why_ are you staying so calm?” She holds back the tears that are stinging in her eyes. “Why aren’t you shouting back?”

“I thought you needed to vent your frustrations,” Treville says, putting down her cup. “It’s why I asked you to join me for some tea.”

“You can’t do that! You can’t be all considerate when I’m angry with you!” She quickly wipes a tear from her face. She doesn’t even want to look Treville in the face. If only she could disappear and hide in her bedroom.

“Alex…” Treville’s voice sounds uncharastically soft. “You may have grown up in a household where anger was met with more anger. And maybe you taught yourself to keep quiet instead, let that anger boil inside of you. But your voice matters. It’s why I’m giving you the space to let it out.”

Alex aggressively tries to clean the tears from her face. She has to control herself, she has to say something. But the harder she wills the tears to be gone, the more they seem to come back. 

“It’s okay. Let those tears flow. You don’t have to be ashamed of them,” Treville says.

These words ease her mind. Soon the tears dry and after a sip from her tea she seems to have calmed down a bit.

“I guess I just want to know why. Why sabotage Anne’s trial? Why vote pro-Statute?”

“There are lots of layers that are not visible for most. Hogwarts has always prided itself in being independent from the Ministry. Unlike our legal system, where the Minister can pop in as member of the Wizengamot anytime he likes. Anne and I firmly believe those three should be separated. That doesn’t mean they haven’t tried infiltrating. During the Second Wizarding War they certainly had a hand. Since then they backed off, until Rick Liu came into the picture.”

“Anne could’ve fired him, right? It’s not like he owns her.”

“Well, even that has layers. Anne already knew Rick, so she knew what to expect. She also knew the Ministry would try to gain more control over Hogwarts. But Anne, being kind as she is, thought it would be an opportunity to try and be on friendly terms with the Ministry.” 

Alex huffs. “Well that backfired.” 

“It did. But only because the Minister so desperately wanted to revoke that Statute. Leading up to the vote, Anne suddenly got a lot busier. She got calls all over the world from wizards in need. Somehow she was the only one who could solve those issues. Rick got more control over Hogwarts, but it wasn’t enough. He needed to get rid of Anne before the vote,” Treville explains. 

“Leading up towards the vote, several magical creatures looked up Rick. As you may know he has a knack for languages, and uses those to talk to them. It’s how the Ministry has so much control over magical creatures till this day. Some of those managed to get through the barriers of Hogwarts to confer with Rick.”

“That’s what they used against Anne, right?” 

“They did. But now that the vote is over, her trial will be a lot less brutal. They were afraid Anne would change people’s minds. As you have seen, it did. Now the pressure is off, her trial won’t be so important for the Minister anymore. It will be easier to free her from all charges.” 

“That’s great,” Alex says with an empty smile. 

“You still disagree with our decision, don’t you?” Treville says knowingly. 

“I mean, you have to admit it will be a matter of time before the wizarding world can no longer remain a secret, right?” Alex says. “Wizards need to move on to the new century. Technology is surpassing us left and right. Not to mention that wizards no longer marry purebloods only. Over half the school is halfblood nowadays. What about all those Muggle parents? I can still remember the shock on my parents' faces when they found out about magic.” 

Treville smiles. “It’s true. There will come a time where our world has to be revealed. But you have to ask yourself: does a man who bribes half the voters to vote _his_ way not have ulterior motives?”

Alex closes her mouth. She hasn’t thought about that.

“It’s easy to be tempted by the revocation. I think we all were. But digging a bit deeper, Anne and I discovered that the Ministry has no plan whatsoever. We also knew from previous encounters that the Minister considers himself better than Muggles. Not in a way that he would start a war, but it raised enough concern for us to think twice. He has been forcing wizards to work on controlling those bugs with technology. If that’s under control, they’d have an advantage over Muggles.”

“But why? Why go such lengths?”

“Fear,” Treville says as if that should answer her question.

When Alex still looks confused, Treville elaborates. “Back in the middle ages people were terrified of wizards. There were witch hunts everywhere. It’s why this law came into place; to protect ourselves. Now we are on the brink of being discovered, and we can’t even rely on our magic anymore if electricity is present. Which in this modern world, is almost everywhere.”

“But if the bugs are fixed, wizards will have the upper hand,” Alex puts two and two together.

“Exactly. The Minister is afraid the Muggles will turn against us once more. He wants to rely on magic in case something goes wrong, like a defense mechanism. But it’s a dangerous one. Because we should not reveal ourselves as superiors, but as equals.”

Alex sighs. “That’s impossible. So many wizards consider themselves superior. I’m muggleborn, I should know.”

“You’re right. That’s a nasty pride many wizards have, even today. I wouldn’t even be surprised some voted against the revocation simply because they refuse to mingle their world with Muggles.”

“I could never understand those people.” 

“They will change their minds,” Treville says reassuring. “After all, magic and technology are incredibly similar. It’s a matter of time before people will realize they’re just opposite sides of the same coin.” 

\--

It’s after midnight and almost everyone in the castle is asleep. Everyone except Connie. After what happened at the Ministry, she simply couldn’t fall asleep. She got out of her bed and made her way to the Gryffindor Tower, only to meet Dorothy in the hallway, already on her way to find Connie. 

Ever since, they’ve been wandering around. Quietly, mostly. There are so many things to be said, but how to say them? Connie reaches over to take Dorothy’s hand. 

“I’m disappointed too,” she tries to spark a conversation.

Dorothy softly kicks a pebble that’s in her way. “I was already planning in my head when I would tell the Inseparables. Guess I should’ve known, right?”

“It’s not wrong to be hopeful, Dee.” 

“Maybe,” Dorothy mutters. “Maybe not.”

They walk up the stairs that lead to the Astronomy Tower. 

“I guess I don’t understand,” Dorothy speaks up. “I mean, this is _Anne Bonacieux_ we’re talking about. She’s always been progressive. She has marched for the freedom of Elves. She’s spoken up about feminism and created so many queer safe spaces, including at Hogwarts. How can someone so progressive, vote for a law that holds us back?”

“She must’ve known something was lying under the surface. I can’t think of any other reason why she would vote that way.” 

Dorothy opens the door on top of the stairs and a chilly night breeze greets them. They settle down near an open window, letting their feet dangle over the edge.

“I just never thought Anne would disappoint me, is all,” Dorothy says quietly. 

“You had her so much on a pedestal, she had to at some point.”

Dorothy hums a bit sadly and their conversation comes to an end. There’s only one question left on Connie’s mind. If she doesn’t say it now, she never will.

“Dee, about this morning…”

“Oh! Yeah, I’m so sorry I woke you up so early. I promise you, next Saturday I’ll let you sleep in as long as you want.”

“No not that,” Connie sighs. There’s no going back now, she has to say it out loud. “About what you said?”

Dorothy looks puzzled. “You really need to help me out here, I don’t have that good a memory.” 

Okay, well here goes nothing.

“You, uh, said you loved me?” 

“Oh! I did, yeah,” says Dorothy calmly, seemingly oblivious why Connie’s even bringing it up. “... And…?” 

“Well, it’s the first time you said it to me in the few months we’ve been together.” 

_“I haven’t told you I loved you before?_ Oh my god, no wonder you’re upset,” Dorothy says. “What kinda girlfriend am I if I don’t tell you I love you? So from now on, every day, I’m gonna -”

Connie takes her hand to make her stop rambling.

“No, Dee. I meant to say -” she searches for the right words. “What I’m trying to... Look, I grew up learning that love and respect is something you earn. And when you say those words out loud it has to be in this grand gesture kinda way so you telling me so casually this morning… It kinda threw me off guard.” 

“Oh.”

“N-Not that it was wrong. It just...”

“Threw you off guard,” Dorothy finishes her sentence quietly, she lets go of Connie’s hand an twists her fingers. “No, no I get it.”

“No, Dee. I didn’t mean it like that.” 

She could punch herself right now. Way to make a lovely gesture into a crapfest, Connie!

“What I meant to say is that love always seemed to me like something you have to achieve. I mean, take Anne and Treville for example. They’ve been through a lot, and even now that they’ve both come to terms with their feelings for each other, they still can’t be together because of Anne’s work and people thinking she’s gonna use that privilege to give Treville favors.”

“Well, those people don’t know Anne.”

“No, they don’t,” Connie agrees. “But, one day, when all that is gone, they will be able to be together. They fought so hard for their love, and then they’ll finally be able to enjoy it. But when I’m with you, everything is so easy. It almost feels _too_ easy.”

“Are you suggesting you wanna fight more?” Dorothy asks confused. “Because I mean, we can fight if you want. I don’t really feel like punching you, but if that’s what makes you happy?”

“No, I don’t want that. I _like_ that it’s easy, but I’m afraid one day we’ll lose that.” 

Dorothy smiles, as if knowing something she doesn’t. “Connie, you don’t get difficulty points for tough love. You know what I like about our relationship? That it’s not some _epic romance_ between star-crossed lovers who only get to be together for like a week and then will wither for the rest of their lives. And they’ll romanticize that fling so much that they doom any chance of any other relationship.”

“But-”

“Those people-” she interrupts Connie’s objections “-don’t realize how great it is to see the person you love _every_ day. I get to see you _every_ day, Connie. I can be there for you at all times. I can make you laugh, I can comfort you when you need it. And the fact that I look forward to spending more of those normal days with you, tells me that this isn’t gonna break any time soon.”

“But what if it becomes boring?”

“You’ll make my boring days bright again,” Dorothy says simply. 

She laughs. “Be serious! Now you’re just making stuff up!” 

“I’m really not! We click. And I couldn’t wish for a better girlfriend,” Dorothy says. “And honestly, I’ll send a bucket full of horsecrap to anyone who told you you can’t say you love someone daily. Or even multiple times on the same day! Those words shouldn’t be saved for a special occasions. They already hold so much meaning that you should feel comfortable saying it whenever.” 

“Huh, I never thought about it that way. That’s really beautiful,” Connie says, but she can feel the dread inside her growing. ‘I’m just afraid it’s gonna take me some time to actually be able to say it out loud.”

“That’s okay. You can show you love someone, without saying anything at all,” Dorothy says. “For instance, today you came on my insane quest to try and help Anne, despite it being five in the morning and you wanting to sleep like a normal person. You don’t need to make some epic declaration, because you’ve already shown me how you feel.”

Connie blushes, and turns her attention back to the stars.

It really is a beautiful, clear night. 

“Dee?”

“Hm..?”

Connie reaches over and takes Dorothy’s hand, threading their fingers together and holding on tight. She doesn’t really know what to say, or how to say it. But Dorothy’s quiet presence beside her doesn’t demand anything of her, or seem to expect her to say anything at all. A quiet settles over them.

Connie could feel the unsaid words hanging between them, not a burden but more of a promise of all the things that would be said when the time came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the chapter! If you want to talk about this AU you can leave a comment or shoot an ask on my [Tumblr](http://bannedfromzoos.tumblr.com)! :D


	8. Inseparable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I do believe in an everyday sort of magic -- the inexplicable connectedness we sometimes experience with places, people, works of art and the like; the eerie appropriateness of moments of synchronicity; the whispered voice, the hidden presence, when we think we're alone.” ― Charles de Lint

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is _long_ overdue, I know. Depression is shitty, guys. The two year A4O hiatus didn’t help either. But here’s the epilogue to the Hogwarts AU! Just to clarify, in this chapter I’ll still be using ‘Ariana’ and ‘she/her’ even though it feels super fucking weird. Rest assured, Henry will figure out he’s trans after he graduates and be the handsome fellow he already is in the series.
> 
> I wrote this fic mostly because I was interested in the intersection between magic and technology; the division between Muggles and wizards; and like the complete fucking absence of world building after Hogwarts. I didn’t get to explore that here. I’ve been way more interested in writing the sequel to this fic then this fic itself. Now given my… not so great track record I’ve decided not to commit to another full Hogwarts AU story. _However_ , I love these ideas so much that I do want to write a version of this, but it will probably be more like little snippets of their lives, a small one shot for each character, five years down the line. We’ll see how that goes.
> 
> Now without further ado, the epilogue! :)

A broom swooshes right past Connie’s face and she cannot repress the grin that appears on her face when she sees who it is. _Show-off_ , she thinks endearingly. 

_“And there goes Castlemore! Better than ever! After a year long suspension she is once more Gryffindor’s Beater! You can tell she’s been itching to play in this final match!” The announcer’s voice booms through the stadium._

Loud cheers erupt when Gryffindor scores.

_“Ten points for Gryffindor! An excellent shot by Chaser Rochefort. A position much better suited to him, if I do say so myself.”_

The Hufflepuff Chaser is quick to counter and evens the score instantly by throwing a ten-pointer as well.

Portia squeals next to her. She has her Hufflepuff scarf draped around her neck and borrowed Dorothy’s House scarf and knotted it on her hips. On her left cheek she painted a badger and her right a lion. 

“Isn’t it counterproductive to cheer for _both_ teams?” Connie asks her, needing to scream into Portia’s ear even though she’s standing next to her.

“No?” Portia says confused and then smiles. “I get to cheer on both teams. I win!”

“That’s not-” Connie wants to explain, but lets the sentence drown out by another loud applause when Dorothy manages to hit one of the Hufflepuffs off their brooms. Connie doesn’t know much about Quidditch, but she doesn’t need to to know Dorothy is phenomenal. She truly is in her element. 

_“Uh oh! Seems Hufflepuff’s Seeker Lenors is tracking the Snitch. Will Gryffindor catch up in time? Holy mother of dragons! Gryffindor is on FIRE! Another ten points! Will it be enough?”_

Connie tries to find the Seeker but there are too many brooms flying in front her eyes she doesn’t know where to look.

_“It’s a battle of the Seekers! Hufflepuff is closing in on the Snitch! This does not look - HOLY SHIT! A Bludger hits Lenors’ broom throwing her off track! This can only be the handy work of Dorothy Castlemore! A perfect shot! Gryffindor’s Seeker closes in now and - WOW! He catches the Snitch! Gryffindor wins! They win the Quidditch Cup!”_

The Gryffindor stands go wild. Portia throws her arms around Connie and jumps up and down in joy. “We did it!”

“I didn’t do anything, but sure!” Connie yells back.

_“Attention fellow Ravenclaws, professor Treville just deducted five points from our house because I cursed in a live broadcast. My bad. Won’t happen again. Let’s see that Cup, huh?”_

Portia taps Connie on her shoulder and brings her face closer, because the noise on their stands is absolutely deafening. 

“After the Ceremony, come to the Slytherin dungeons with Dorothy. Ria got a surprise!”

Connie sticks out a thumbs up so she can spare her lungs. She looks back at the field, where the Gryffindor team flies an honorary round around the stadium. Her eyes fall on Dorothy, who has both arms up in the air. All her worries and recent disappointments completely forgotten.

The crowd runs out on the field to greet the winning team. Dorothy’s team mates fly down to meet their adoring fans. Before flying down with them, Dorothy searches the stands and when she locks eyes with Connie she blows her a kiss.

\--

Dorothy hears Ariana’s voice as soon as they walk through the Slytherin portal. “Took you long enough to get here, Castlemore.”

“Hello to you to Ariana.”

“Don’t blame her, Ria,” Portia comes to Dorothy’s defense. “They just won the Quidditch Cup. Everybody’s celebrating.”

“Yeah, so this better be _really_ cool or I’m out of here.”

Portia lights up. “It will be! I promise.”

“You should listen to Porche, because I might change my mind if you keep this up.”

“I already tried it this morning! It’s so cool!”

“Is it what I think what it is?” Connie asks.

“Probably,” Ariana shrugs and motions them over to the couches. “So you all know now I’ve been experimenting with technomagic right? Last week, I made a breakthrough and Rick finally cleared me to go back to Hogwarts.”

She opens up her laptop. “Check this out. _Wingardium Leviosa_.”

As soon as Ariana casts the spell her laptop jumps in the air and flies wherever Ariana points her wand at.

Dorothy frowns. “Nothing’s happening.”

“That’s the point, you dingus. Nothing is exploding or crashing or running away from me. The spell works and so does my laptop.”

The laptop drifts down gently back to the table. 

“And now for the _really_ cool part,” Ariana clicks on a browser icon and a web page pops up. “Your eyes aren’t betraying you. We got frigging internet at Hogwarts! I am amazing.”

“Holy shit!” Dorothy exclaims and gets closer. “How did you do that?”

Ariana raises an eyebrow. “You _sure_ you wanna know?”

“Not really, I just want to check in on some friends.”

“You? _Friends_?”

“Oh shut up, Ariana,” Dorothy says but then realizes Ariana holds all the cards here. “I mean, I still would really like to use the internet if that’s okay? You did say I get to try but I do totally apologize for saying to shut up. That was rude.”

“Yeah yeah, just shut up and talk to your dumb friends before I change my mind,” Ariana smirks and hands Dorothy the laptop who takes it eagerly.

“So what now?” Connie asks. “Will technology and magic work together from now on?”

“Not exactly. Basically I had to make a code with _magic_ and plant it in every device so it will not crash if the two come in contact. Cracking that code was the hardest, but now we know it it will be easy to duplicate it.”

“Downside is that _every_ device in the entire world needs this to not go berserk,” Portia fills in. 

“Yep, but as we speak the Minister of Magic is trying to create a law to have the magical code implanted in every new piece of technology being manufactured. Though there’s also an obvious amount of backlog to catch up on. It’s going to be a long and tedious process.”

“So whatever you were working on in the Ministry is done now?” Connie asks.

“Pretty much. I’ll be installing WiFi spots all over Hogwarts during the summer. There still needs to be a limit on personal technical belongings. But the library will get several computers and each common room gets a couple of tablets that anyone can use. Within three years we hope everyone can carry a smartphone around and no issues will occur whenever magic and technology interact.” 

“That’s really cool,” Connie says impressed. “Not that I ever used a computer before.”

“Hi guys!” Dorothy says enthusiastically.

Connie looks around the room, but nobody else has entered to greet to. “We were already here, Dee.”

“Wait, are you _streaming_?” Ariana asks enthusiastically and jumps behind the couch and reads along over Dorothy’s shoulder.

 **breton:** dorothy?

 **breton:** d is streaming??? whaaat?

 **worstdanceever:** Aren’t you supposed to be still in school?

“Oh! I am still in school. A friend hooked me up with a laptop!” and Dorothy points towards Ariana. “How are you all?”

 **canonicallyace:** Oh! Dorothy is streaming! Hi Dorothy! :) We miss you.

 **breton:** sounds illegal. i’m in 

**sassyinspanish:** I’ve been great!

 **monochrome:** it’s good to see your face

 **emblue:** what about that no internet policy your private school got going on?

“Ah, yeah they are slowly tracking back on that one. They finally decided to enter the 21th century.” 

**canonicallyace:** You have cute outfits! Your friend is wearing different colors though!

“Uhm,” Dorothy halts for a second because she realizes she can only reveal so much. “Well, basically you get placed into different teams to encourage friendly competition, I guess?” 

**sica_inimicis:** Wait what did u say?

 **breton:** ur stream is lagging REAL bad 

**akari^89:** I thought it was my crappy internet.

 **worstdanceever:** It appears to be a problem on Dorothy’s end.

“Shit, I’m lagging?” Dorothy says disappointed and looks over to Ariana.

“That makes sense. Streaming takes a lot of data and given the place we’re in the WiFi still gets interfered.”

“Right,” Dorothy says and shuts off the stream. “I’ll just let them know in the chat streaming still won’t be an option.”

Connie sits down next to her and rubs her back. “Hey, but at least you can talk to your friends in school now, right?”

Her disappointment of not being able to stream melts away by the thought of having regular chats with the Inseparables during next school year. “Exactly. It’s such an improvement from what I used to be able to do.”

She bumps playfully into Ariana’s shoulder. “You did good, Ariana. I don’t think you understand how much this means to me.”

\--

It’s a beautiful summer day, one of their last days at Hogwarts before the train will bring them back home again. Dorothy had finished her exams a few days ago, but Connie finished her last exam just this afternoon. 

Most students are relaxing in the grass on the Hogwarts grounds. To gain some privacy, Dorothy had taken Connie’s hand and together they were making their way around the lake. After Connie had expressed her worries about failing her Muggle exams and Dorothy reassuring her it probably went fine and if not, nobody really cared much about Muggle studies to begin with, the conversation grew more serious.

“Did I mention I got a letter this morning from my parents?” Connie asks.

“No?”

“Well, they said Anne should be reinstated again as Headmaster by the end of the summer.”

“Hm, that’s nice.”

“You sound even less enthusiastic than I imagined.” 

Dorothy snorts. “That obvious, huh?”

“I understand why you’re disappointed in her, but despite her involvement in the Statute she’s still a good Headmaster.”

“I know,” Dorothy says. “It’s just… when I talked to the Inseparables a couple of weeks ago they started to ask questions about the school and knew I wouldn’t be able to answer them truthfully. That hurts.”

Connie hummed understandably.

“In a way the bad connection kind of saved me. I mean what if someone would’ve come in and done magic? Would they have to erase all the Inseparables’ memories? I can’t risk that.”

“But you could text message with them.”

“Yeah, that’s true. It’s not ideal, but… I won’t feel as alone anymore.”

Connie squeezes her hand. “You also got me.”

Dorothy smiles. “Speaking of that, I sent my mom that letter - if you can stay over for a few weeks? I mean we agreed my house was probably the lesser of two evils. My mom’s gonna be cranky, but at least she’s at work most of the time. She said she was fine with it but would like to talk with your parents first.”

“Of course, the Bonacieuxes wouldn’t want it _any_ other way. They have to know where their precious Constance will reside during the summer,” Connie says mockingly. “I’m surprised they haven’t sent a contractor to your house yet to inspect if it’s up to their standard.”

“Oh boy.” 

“Yeah, my parents are a handful. But they mean well.” 

“What if your parents deem me and my house unsuitable?”

“What do you think? I’ll go anyway.”

Dorothy gasps dramatically. “Miss Bonacieux! Have I turned you into a rulebreaker?”

“Perhaps,” Connie smiled mischievously. “Next year we might have to spent all our dates in detention.”

Dorothy laughs and kisses her. “Honestly? As long as I get to see you I’m good with that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for being so patience with me and reading this story! If you want to talk about this AU you can leave a comment or shoot an ask on my [Tumblr](http://bannedfromzoos.tumblr.com)! (EDIT: I already started posting the sequel so don't forget to check that out!) :D


End file.
